The Makkimala village in Wayanad on Saturday bid adieu to the nine women who were killed in an accident Friday afternoon. The jeep they were travelling, ferrying them back home from work at a plantation, lost control and plunged into a gorge.
Brought in a procession of nine ambulances, accompanied by countless vehicles of ministers, officials, relatives and public, it took more than 30 minutes for the motorcade carrying the bodies of the dead to reach the village from Mananthavadi.
Laid at the temporarily erected pandal in front of the Government LP School, thousands paid tribute to the departed Saturday afternoon.
Apart from relatives, individuals including workers of nearby plantations gathered around the makeshift pandal.
The mortal remains of the victims, Rani (57), wife of Thankaraj, Santha (55), wife of Pathmanabhan, her daughter Chithra (28), wife of Karthik, Chinnamma (60), wife of Chandran, Leela (60), wife of Sathyan, Shaja (47), wife of Pramod, Rabiya (62), wife of Kappil Mammu, Karthiayani (65), wife of Velayudhan and Shobhana (55), wife of Balan, were handed over to relatives to perform the last rites.
Grief-stricken relatives received the bodies and transported the mortal remains to respective homes. All the nine households were under a spell of sorrow for the last 24 hours, since the news of the disaster spread.
The most harrowing scene was at the home of Chithra and her mother Karthyayani.
Karthik, the husband of Chithra, is yet to come to terms with the reality that his wife is no more. It would no doubt be tough for Karthik to convince the children - Amal and Rahul - that their mother and grandmother will not come back.
The bodies of Santha and her daughter Chithra were laid to rest at the public burial ground of the village whereas the bodies of Karthiayani, Leela and Shaja, were cremated at home. Both Karthiayani and Leela were wives of two brothers. The body of Rani was cremated at the ancestral home at Varayal, about 3 km from Thalappuzha whereas the body of Chinnamma was laid to rest at Shanthi Kavadam at Thrisleri, near Mananthavadi. The body of Rabiya was laid to rest at the Juma Masjid Kabristan, Makkimala.
Minister for forest and wildlife protection A K Saseendran who was monitoring the preparations for the critical care to those under treatment and for the mass burial of the victims, told reporters, that all the aspects of the accident would be probed by an expert team.
When queried about the faulty construction of the road, Saseendran said: “If there are any anomalies in the construction of the road, it also would be brought under the purview of the probe. The government would ensure all financial aid to the families and also would bear the cost of treatment.”
The minister further assured steps would be taken to ensure crash guards at such accident prone zones.
Meanwhile, the State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) registered a case suo motu into the mishap. Acting chairman of the rights’ panel K Baijunath who is also the judicial member of the panel, ordered district police chief Padam Singh and district collector Dr Renu Raj to submit a report on the accident within 15 days. The commission would consider the case during its next sitting at Wayanad.
A team of officials led by Mananthavady MLA O R Kelu visited the houses of the nine victims and handed over an immediate financial aid of Rs 10,000 each to the kin.