Kasaragod: The death of two persons hailing from the district in the Kuwait fire tragedy has spread gloom across the northern district of Kerala. The victims are Ponmaleri Kunhikelu (58) of Thekkumbad in South Trikaripur and K Ranjith (34) of Kundadka in Cherkala.
Kunhikelu spent 20 years in Kuwait
Kunhikelu’s last visit to his hometown was in September last year. At that time, he had told relatives that he would permanently return from Kuwait by the end of the year.
An engineer in a leading company in Kuwait, Kunhikelu had spent over two decades abroad. During the visit home in September last year, Kunhikelu’s relatives had urged him not to return to Kuwait. However, he told them that he would spend another year before settling in his hometown.
Having spent his entire working life outside Kerala, Kunhikelu did not have many friends in Kasaragod. However, the tragic death of Kunhikelu, a man known for his gentle nature, sent shockwaves in the locality.
Kunhikelu is survived by his wife K N Mani, who works at the Pilicode panchayat office and children K N Rishikesh and Dev Kiran; parents Kunhipurayil Kelu Adiyodi and P Parvathy; and siblings P Thambayi, Lakshmi, Bhavani, Radha, Krishnan and Ramachandran.
Ranjith, a popular face in his village
Every day, Ranjith called his mother Rugmani at Kundadka. However, when the call did not arrive at the regular time on Wednesday morning, she went to work for the Employment Guarantee Scheme.
Sometime later, Ranjith’s brother Rajesh called Rugmani to inform her that Ranjith had suffered minor burns in the fire tragedy in Kuwait. Rugmani rushed home and prayed for the safety of her son. Ranjith’s father, sister and neighbours also were told that he was only injured.
However, by evening, everyone in the village knew that Ranjith was among the victims. However, some of the villagers did not want the family to hear about the loss and disconnected the cable TV connection. Ranjith was the favourite son of Rugmani, said neighbours.
Ranjith spent ten years in Gulf countries. He returned to Kuwait a year ago after completing the work of his house in his hometown. Ranjith was supposed to travel to Kasaragod after two months for his wedding.
Active in the cultural, artistic and political sectors in Kundadka, Ranjith was a popular figure in the area. In the Gulf too, he participated in the activities of various organisations. He was a storekeeper at a company in Kuwait when the tragedy struck.
Ranjith is survived by his parents K Raveendran and Rugmani and siblings Rajeesh, who also works in the Gulf, and Ramya.