In the town of Meppadi, in a span of 48 hours, three religious burial sites within a half-kilometre stretch have become the final resting place for nearly 100 victims of the devastating Wayanad landslide. As the death toll from the tragedy surpassed 300, these burial grounds are bracing for more funerals while volunteers ensure that every deceased individual receives their last rites with dignity.
At Meppadi Juma Masjid, volunteers have formed groups to expedite the burials. Since July 30, the Masjid has received 53 bodies, with 38 already buried there and 15 sent to other masjids. Behind the Masjid, volunteers from the Samastha Kerala Sunni Students Federation (SKSSF) and Prathiksha have set up stations to perform Ghusl, the ritual cleansing of the dead, and to carry out all necessary rites. On the other side of the Masjid lies a hill that serves as the burial ground for the landslide victims. Volunteers tirelessly dig graves at the hilltop, tarpaulin sheets protecting them from the rain and preventing water from filling the graves. Wooden planks are prepared in each grave, ready to receive the bodies as they arrive.
“We bury a maximum of three persons in one grave, due to the space shortage. We are expecting more dead bodies this week as many are being brought from Nilambur and are awaiting postmortem at Meppadi hospital,” said Muhammed Kutty, president of the Juma Masjid committee.
The mosque authorities report that the bodies arriving from Nilambur are in a decomposed state. As of August 1, 58 bodies and 97 limbs have been found in the Chaliyar river. More than 30 bodies have been found in Nilambur, nearly 100 km from Chooralmala and Mundakkai, where the landslides occurred. Almost all the bodies recovered on the third day after the tragedy were decomposed, with limbs separated. “Such bodies cannot be cleaned like the other bodies, so we perform the religious last rites using soil (Thaimam) and then bury them,” Muhammed Kutty explained.
The volunteers, however, say that they do not feel any aversion when dealing with decomposed bodies. “When we receive bodies in whatever state, our hearts are filled with grief, nothing else. We take care of them and bury them as if they were our own loved ones,” said Musthafa, a volunteer.
These volunteers have other occupations and have taken a break from their work to help at the burial ground. “I have a wood business and I have taken a break from it to volunteer here since the 30th,” said Ali, an SKSSF volunteer.
Just 500 m from the Juma Masjid is the Meppadi Mariamman Kovil temple crematorium, where Seva Bharathi and the temple committee are organising the cremations. Since July 30, 37 bodies have been cremated here.
“We cremate 11 to 12 bodies at a time. We mobilise firewood through our volunteers. Our volunteers are stationed at the hospital, and when a body is ready to be moved, they inform us at the crematorium. When the bodies arrive, we ensure that their relatives have a chance to perform the final rituals before we proceed with the cremation,” explained Sathyan Nair, district president of Seva Bharathi.
He added that as more bodies are expected in the coming days, they have made necessary arrangements to conduct additional cremations.
The Mariamman Kovil cremation ground shares a compound wall with the Holy Emmanuel CSI Church. The church priest, PV Cheriyan, told TNM that six bodies were brought to the church. “Of the six bodies brought to the church, four were buried here and two were sent to their respective parishes. The four buried here belonged to the same family,” he said.