After landslides, Wayanad is inundated by thieves

Wayanad/New Delhi: After massive landslides claimed over 370 lives in Mundakkai and Chooralmala in Wayanad on July 30, 2024, the area is now inundated by a ‘flood’ of thieves.

Taking unfair advantage of the situation, thieves disguised as rescue workers are reportedly breaking into empty houses in the landslide-hit villages and decamping with the cash and other valuables that the victims were forced to leave behind.

The Meppadi police have issued a warning about the presence of the thieves in the affected areas.

Meppadi SHO Ajesh K S told the media that “thieves, some from neighbouring states, are entering the disaster-hit areas posing as rescue workers to steal gold and money. They are targeting the valuables and other items of the landslide victims. Night patrolling has been initiated in Chooralmala and Mundakkai to address this issue.”

To check the menace, the district administration has started a registration counter at Chooralmala, where volunteers arriving to offer their services must submit their details. This follows complaints of thefts being carried out by people impersonating revenue officials.

The police confirmed several thefts at houses in Chooralmala. They are facing challenges in filing FIRs as there are no witnesses to testify about the exact loss.

According to the media, one such theft was reported from the residence of Ibrahim of Chooralmala, who is currently in a relief camp. His house, which he had locked before shifting to the camp, was found broken into. The Meppadi police have launched a probe. There was a burglary reported at Saleem’s house nearby too.

There were reports of thieves fleeing with relief materials too.

Police have now restricted people, including volunteers, from entering the homes of the victims at night without permission.

Meanwhile, amid poignant scenes, local authorities buried 189 bodies and body parts of unidentified victims of the monstrous landslides that have so far claimed close to 402 lives with over 200 still missing.

Only 31 full bodies were buried, the remaining just body parts. Authorities conducted DNA tests on every remains of bodies recovered and tagged them so that at some point in time relatives can offer their prayers to obtain a final closure.

The bodies were mass-buried in a parcel of land belonging to a tea estate company at Putthumala near Chooralmala, which bore the brunt of the landslide,  as prayers were chanted by priests from different communities.

Meanwhile, institutions and people from different walks of life – from autorickshaw drivers to the rich — have come forward to donate land for the survivors who lost their dwellings in the landslide.

Minister for local self-governments MB Rajesh said that a special sub-committee formed by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has decided to open an online land bank where people can donate land or seek to rehabilitate the survivors.

Many have come forward to adopt children who lost their parents in the tragedy even as the state government has sought the support of counsellors to help children overcome the trauma of losing their families and friends.

Meanwhile, hopes of finding those still missing in the landslides at Chooralmala and Mundakkai are fading with each passing day. The state government said Monday that it is up to the Army to decide when to end the search operations.

In another move, drones have been pressed into service since yesterday to transport food packets to regions that remain out of reach by traditional means.

In a bid to sustain the hundreds of personnel searching the treacherous terrain for signs of life, authorities employed modern drones capable of carrying food packets for up to 10 people at a time.

“A rapid food and water delivery system has been established to support rescue workers. Drone operations enabled the direct delivery of food to personnel operating heavy machinery, such as Hitachi and JCB equipment,” an official release stated.

The food for the rescue workers is being prepared at the Community Kitchen functioning at Meppadi Polytechnic, it said.

Also read: Wayanad tragedy: Blame game begins

In New Delhi, Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav blamed the Kerala government for allowing “illegal human habitat expansion and mining” in the state’s fragile region which resulted in the devastating landslides in Wayanad district”.

Speaking to a news channel, Yadav said the environment ministry had issued six draft notifications, including one issued on July 31, to declare over 56,800 square kilometres of the Western Ghats across six states, including villages in Kerala’s landslide-hit Wayanad, Ecologically Sensitive Area (ESA), inviting suggestions and objections within 60 days.

Yadav said that an expert panel set up in April 2022 to find a breakthrough is in “constant touch with the states”.

The Western Ghats is one of the most fragile regions in the country like the Himalayas. Serious efforts must be made to prevent disasters in such regions and the Kerala government is also responsible for ensuring the same,” he said.

Scientists and experts have attributed the disaster to a deadly mix of forest cover loss, mining in the fragile terrain and climate change.

*Shankar Raj is a former editor of The New Indian Express, Karnataka and Kerala, and writes regularly on current affairs.