Malappuram: Kavalapara in Malappuram district witnessed one of the most disastrous landslides during the heavy rainfall in Kerala. Last Thursday night, tons of boulders, rocks, and mud fell upon more than 30 houses at Kavalapara.
Strenuous efforts are still going on to retrieve the dead bodies from the huge mound of mud and rocks. 46 bodies have recovered so far and rescue workers believe that 6 more bodies are buried under the mud. 6 bodies were recovered today.
Rescue efforts used GPR system to locate the bodies and to assist in recovering the bodies. However, it failed today to give the desired result in the search operations. Anand K. Pandae the expert in handling the GPR system said that the water content in the mud had hampered the machine.
People familiar with the area said that more than 50 people were at the location when the massive landslide occurred.
The place is filled with wet mud and water which is making the search operations difficult. That was when the radar system, that could detect the region underneath the surface, was brought from Hyderabad to aid in the operations.
The number of deaths in this year’s heavy rains were aggravated by massive landslides. Experts and environmentalists are blaming the unrestricted quarrying of hills and constructions that has resulted in 80 landslides across the state.
They also accuse the state government, quarry mafia and the Christian churches who sabotaged the Gadgil Committee report that had laid down strict guidelines when it comes to quarrying and other activities in Eco-sensitive areas in Western Ghats.
