An inquiry report submitted by Munnar special tehsildar Binu Joseph to Idukki District Collector H Dineshan has found safety violations in the accommodations in estate lines at Pettimudi where a landslide last month had killed over 65 people. The estate lines built before the 1950s were in remote areas without proper road and telecommunication facilities or proper safety.
"Strict direction should be given to the plantation companies for ensuring safety to their estate lines and for providing adequate motorable roads and basic telecommunication system," the report said. Collector Dineshan had constituted a 12-member special team to analyse the damage and recommend steps to rehabilitate the victims of the landslide. The team, led by Binu Joseph, submitted the report last week.
The report also pointed out that after primary inspection it was found that Pettimudi included an area that is landslide prone. The other estate lines and divisions near Anamudi were found to be facing similar threats - such as Chenduvara, Chittuvara, Vaguvarai, Sevenmalai and Gundumalai. These should be studied by an expert agency, the report said.
The report also recommended that further investigation is needed to find whether there were any lapses on the part of the Kanan Devan Hills Plantations (KDHP) in informing the authorities about the landslide tragedy in a timely manner. "We got information that the company official (field officer) was informed of the landslide within an hour of the incident. It is learned that the Rajamala managers' bungalow within the jurisdiction of the KDHP has a system to report the incident to the outside world. The Pettimudi area under Devikulam taluk was isolated from the first week of August due to extremely heavy rainfall. From August 2 onwards, the power connection was disrupted there. Due to the absence of a battery or inverter system in the mobile tower in the region the mobile network was disrupted after the power connection was disrupted," it said.
According to the report, the landslide occurred at Pettimudi at around 10.30 pm on August 6. However, the news reached the outside world only by next morning. The rescue team reached the spot by 11 am. Thirty houses in four tea estate layams (cluster of workers' quarters) went under and 66 bodies were recovered while four people are still missing, adds the report.
Meanwhile, the central government-approved report by Geological Survey of India (GSI) also recommended that inhabitants of the hill slope of Pettimudi area should be living at a safer distance from the river. "As a safety concern, it is recommended that the inhabitants of the hill slope of Pettimudi area should be at a safer distance from the tributary streamlets and also from the main river so that the risk from slope failures as well as flooding can be avoided. With the uncertainty on the prevailing conditions in the scarp area, it is also recommended to shift the housing lines away from the flanks of the streamlets. No new construction shall be done or allowed in the mouth area or close to the stream flanks," said the report.
The report also said that the incessant and high intensity rainfall for consecutive days is assessed as the triggering factor of the Pettimudi landslide.
Revenue Minister E Chandrasekharan instructed that State Disaster Management Commissioner A Kowsigan be given the charge of studying the report in detail. Experts should be included in the research team, the minister instructed Revenue Principal Secretary Jayathilak. He also said that guidelines on disaster preparedness should be prepared and submitted for the future.
An online meeting held on Wednesday with the Chief Minister, Revenue minister and KDHP officials discussed the rehabilitation of the Pettimudi landslide victims. At the meeting, the KDHP officials refused to provide land to the victims and instead offered Rs 1 crore to construct homes for the victims, said Idukki district administration.
"The collector will visit Kuttiyarvalley on September 15 and then take a final decision about the rehabilitation of people,'' said a revenue department official.
Watch: Kerala man creates sculpture in mud to pay homage to Pettimudi landslide victims