After over 3 months, Kerala landslide survivors meet at poll booths

Three-and-a-half months after landslides tore apart their villages and killed at least 250 of their friends and family members, the surviving voters of Chooralmala and Mundakkai met each other again in the polling booths for the bypoll in Wayanad parliamentary constituency on Wednesday in an atmosphere filled with tears, smiles and hugs.

Officials familiar with the matter said that special services of KSRTC buses were deployed to ferry those who survived the landslides to the polling centres. The buses were arranged since most of them had lost their homes in the tragedy and have been temporarily rehabilitated in rental homes and government quarters, far away from the affected villages.

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Television visuals showed survivors being handed white roses by officials as they descended from the buses at the polling station.

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However, a cheerful Sruthi did not show the grief on her face. “While the campaign (for the bypoll) was going on, I had decided that I would come here and vote. (Post the landslide) I have received a lot of help from everyone. So I thought I should vote for the people who helped me,” she told reporters.

She said that she usually voted in elections at the government high school in Vellarmala, but parts of the building were washed away in the landslide. “It’s after a long time that I am coming here (to Chooralmala). I remembered everyone while voting,” she said.

The polling stations also saw survivors, who hadn’t seen each other in months, exchanging hugs and shedding tears.

An elderly man said, “I don’t have words to express my emotions right now. I am happy to see some of my friends after a long time.”

A woman, who chose to remain anonymous, said, “A lot of us who lived close to each for a long time are now separated in different areas. We are all sad. But it’s good to see some of them. I lost my house in the landslide, but my family is safe. My mother has come to Chooralmala to cast her vote for the first time after the tragedy.”

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The bypoll in Wayanad was necessitated by the resignation of Congress MP Rahul Gandhi from the seat as he chose to represent the Rae Bareili seat in Uttar Pradesh which he also won.

While the Congress has nominated his sister and party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, the BJP has fielded Navya Haridas and the CPI Sathyan Mokeri.

A turnout of 62.91% was recorded at 10.30 pm in the bypoll on Wednesday.