Six days after the devastating landslide in Kerala’s Wayanad, eight victims were buried in Puthumala, almost 7.5 km away from the disaster site. An interfaith prayer was conducted by religious groups before the burial, which took place at 10.20 pm in a 64 cent land owned by Harrisons Malayalam Limited.
According to reports, 30 graves were made on the site on Sunday, August 4, for burying the bodies and recovered body parts. However, the government decided that only eight bodies need to be buried now. Since the bodies were unidentified, the mass funeral witnessed prayers and rituals of various religions. The prayers were led by Vicar of Chooralmala St. Sebastian church Father Jibin Vattakkalathil, Meppadi Mariyamman temple priest Kuttan and Khathib of Meppadi Juma masjid Mustafal Faizy.
The government had reportedly decided to conduct the burial in public crematoriums. However, the land in Puthumala was identified after seeking opinion from survivors of the landslide. The residents requested the government to provide a final resting place for the victims in Meppadi panchayath itself.
Kerala cabinet ministers OR Kelu, K Rajan, AK Saseendran, MB Rajesh along with Kalpetta MLA T Siddique, Wayanad district collector DR Meghasree, and other political leaders paid their last respects at the burial site.
According to reports, Meppadi taluk hospital had a total of 67 unidentified out of which five were cremated on Saturday, August 3.
Meanwhile, the authorities have also started collecting blood samples of close relatives of the deceased to identify the bodies and body parts. The blood samples are being collected from the survivors after giving them counseling. The blood was taken from close relatives such as children, grandchildren, parents, grandparents and siblings. The collected blood samples will compare with the DNA to identify the unidentified deceased and dismembered body parts.