Idukki landslide victims were all settlers from Tamil Nadu

MADURAI: Most of the people who died or have gone missing in the landslide at Pettimudi near Munnar in Idukki district of Kerala on Thursday night were Tamils who settled there. They hailed from Tuticorin followed by Tirunelveli, Tenkasi, Virudhunagar, Tindivanam and Theni districts.
Relatives of the victims recall their parents and grandparents as saying that severe drought and famine in the plains caused the exodus to the tea estates of Munnar.People could not continue their job as farmhands and the estate provided them a steady job with modest income, accommodation and good climate.
In all, 83 people who had relocated from Tamil Nadu three to four generations ago have been hit by the landslide. “Houses 20m away from my house are gone,” Jayaraman, a survivor from one of the houses told TOI. His neighbour and a supervisor in the tea estate, Meganathan, said they heard an unusually loud noise from a distance and the landslide swept their area in the dark as there was no power supply. “A family flashed lights from torches but we could rescue them only at 6 the next morning,” he said. Bodies were stuck 15 to 20 feet below boulders and slush that wiped out the houses.
Among the missing and presumed dead are a six-month-old baby and her parents. Karupayee, an aged woman, ended up the only survivor as her husband, three daughters and five grandchildren were among those who got buried. Shanmuganathan and his wife survived while their sons aged 22 and 19 years were killed.
In another family, Gopika and her sister who were pursuing online course in another district in Kerala survived as they stayed in the hostel while both their parents are no more. Officials from Tamil Nadu consoled the victims and assured support from the government.
“Seventeen bodies were retrieved on Friday and seven on Saturday,” says district revenue officer (DRO) for NHAI in Theni district T Thiyagarajan. He is among the four revenue department officials sent by the Tamil Nadu government for monitoring the rescue works. Two teams comprising 50 NDRF personnel along with fire and rescue services department, police and forest department are at work and the search will continue throughout the night, Idukki district collector H Dineshan said. After autopsy the bodies will be laid to rest close by, he added.