ADIEU ARJUN

Thousands join 200-metre-long queue to pay last respects to 'family member' Arjun

Kozhikode: Kannadikkal village in Kozhikode witnessed emotional scenes on Saturday morning when the mortal remains of Arjun, the truck driver who was killed in a massive landslide at Karnataka's Shirur, was taken to his house. Thousands of people followed the ambulance from Kannadikkal junction to his house. In the visuals received from sources, police were seen struggling to manage the crowd at Arjun's house. As the house was situated in a very small space, it was very difficult to take the ambulance to the crowded courtyard of the house. Though the ambulance reached the house by 9 in the morning, the mortal remains could be taken to the house after 20 minutes. 

People from Kozhikode, Wayanad, Kannur, Kasaragod, Malappuram and Thrissur, besides his relatives and friends, reached Arjun's house 'Amaravati' on Saturday morning. Volunteers of rescue teams from the different parts of Kerala and Save Arjun action committee members also reached. Around 200-metre-long queue was seen to Arjun's house as nearly 3,000 people, including elderly people and children, flocked to pay last respects to the youth. Non-malayalis, including truck drivers from Shirur also reached to pay homage. 

For the majority of the people gathered here, Arjun is a familiar face only through the media, they never him or knew him personally. Still, they feel he was one of their family members. 

'We have been seeing the news repeatedly for the last few months. So, we are feeling like he is one of our family members' says Lini, from Kuruvattur, Kozhikode. 

A man from Malappuram's Kunnuppuram started from his house in the early hours of Saturday to offer tributes to Arjun.

Rauf T and his team reached Kannadikkal on Friday itself and stayed in a room there arranged by their friend here. They are active members of Nasra Charitable Trust, which is active all over the state. They were also among the hundreds of volunteers who reached Shirur to participate in the rescue operation. 

“A total of 10 members from our team reached here from Malappuram. We managed to get a room in Kannadippalakkal, a place half-a-kilometre away from Kannadikkal. Many volunteers from different districts reached here,” he said.

Meanwhile, the bereaved family of Arjun paid homage to their beloved inside the house. No one from outside were allowed into the house during this time. Later, the mortal remains were taken to the courtyard for public homage. 

In the visuals aired on news channels, women were seen standing in the long queues with tears. Some of them told the media that they anticipated Arjun's safe return. 

Arjun went missing in the landslide at Shirur on July 16. His body parts were recovered from Gangavali river on Wednesday.