Wayanad landslides: Once serene, Kerala’s Chaliyar river turns waterway of sorrow

Rescue personnel recover three more bodies and 13 body parts in 169-km river, which has become a haunting symbol of destruction

Wayanad: The Chaliyar river, a lifeline for people in three Kerala districts, has become a haunting symbol of destruction after landslides ravaged Wayanad on July 30.

For generations, the 169-km river has nourished the lives of those living along its banks in Wayanad, Malappuram and Kozhikode.

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Now, its tranquil waters have turned into a waterway of sorrow, bearing the bodies of those lost in the disaster.

Formed by the confluence of two major tributaries in the Western Ghats, the river has carried the bodies of most of the victims who lost their lives in the disaster.

The latest efforts by various agencies, including the Navy, police, Fire and Rescue teams and the NDRF, along with local residents, recovered three more bodies and 13 body parts from the river on Saturday.

These recoveries bring the total number of bodies found in the river to 73 and body parts to 132, making a grim total of 205, according to officials.

“The recovered bodies comprise 37 men, 29 women, three boys and four girls,” said an official in Malappuram district.

The official added that autopsies of 198 bodies and body parts have been completed, and of these, 195 have been transported to Wayanad for further procedures, while three have been claimed by relatives.

The State government has said search operations will continue along the 40-km stretch of the Chaliyar river.

Stepping up the rescue operations, hundreds of personnel from various forces, including the K-9 Dog Squad, Army, Special Operation Group, Madras Engineering Group, Police, Fire Force, Forest Department, Navy, and Coast Guard were deployed in the disaster-struck areas of Wayanad.