Couple struggles to find meaning in life after losing only son, belongings in Wayanad tragedy

Kalpetta: Jhanvi, who survived the recent landslides in Wayanad, is inconsolable at night after she lost her only son, Srinihal, in the tragedy. Her husband, Anil Kumar, doesn’t know what to do when Jhanvi cries all night, clasping Srinihal’s doll. The couple now spends the days without any purpose, having lost their dream home along with Anil’s mother, Leelavathi. Anil and his father, Devarajan, suffered serious injuries in the disaster.

After the calamity, Anil and his family received numerous promises, but none of them were fulfilled. Revenue Minister K Rajan even promised in front of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan that he would leave the Wayanad hills only after rehabilitating every survivor. However, Anil’s neighbours said that the government should at least meet the treatment expenses of the affected people.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Wayanad also gave Anil much hope, as Modi had talked the most to him. At that time, Anil was admitted to hospital following an injury to his spine and being fluent in Hindi, he described the tragedy in detail to the Prime Minister. Modi held Anil’s hand and promised all help. However, with the Central government refusing aid, people like Anil have now lost all hope.

Anil had gone to work in Croatia when Srinihal was five months old and reached Wayanad on leave a month before the disaster struck. Anil’s mother Leelavathy was a labourer in an estate and it was her dream to build an own house. Anil worked hard for months in Croatia to construct a house in Wayanad as well as to repay the family’s debts. The work on the house, except fixing the doors, was over and the family was preparing to move in when the landslide swept away everything. Anil could not spend even a day in the new house.

Suffering a spinal injury, Anil spent months in the hospital, and after discharge, he has been meeting his own medical expenses. “The expenses are high, as I have to visit the hospital frequently,” he said.

Anil currently stays at a rented house at Kokkuzhi in Kalpetta and can walk only with the help of a special belt. He has resigned from his job in Croatia as Jhanvi cannot spend much time without him. She gets frights during every rain. Even though Jhanvi undergoes counselling every week, she is yet to overcome the trauma.

The family receives the money to pay rent from the government. However, the daily allowance of Rs 300 was paid by the authorities only for a month. The sole document that Anil could save from the tragedy was his Aadhaar card. Meanwhile, his two-wheeler was completely damaged and was identified by its number plate. The two-wheeler is now parked at the rented house.

Facing steep treatment expenses, Anil’s family is surviving on money offered by many others, and there are hundreds of people in his condition in various parts of Wayanad.

Meanwhile, official rehabilitation efforts have reached nowhere. When the private Philokalia Foundation built houses for 10 families affected by the tragedy within three months, the government authorities are yet to come up with a plan. “Though the government has promised a modern township for the survivors, we are expecting nothing,” said Mariamma, who is among the people affected by f the tragedy.

Another survivor Leelavathi, who lives in a rented house in Munderi, said that the only thing given by the authorities is a long list of promises. “Those affected by the landslides are struggling to stay alive even as the state and Central governments are blaming each other over lack of aid and rehabilitation packages,” said Madhavi, another survivor.