U’khand reserves 33% seats for women in cooperative societies The Pushkar Singh Dhami-led government’s decision aims to ensure women’s participation in the cooperative sector Decision to benefit 55 lakh women: govt With the landmark decision, Uttarakhand has become the first state in India to approve a 33% reservation for women in cooperative societies. The govt expects the move will end the male dominance in cooperatives THIRUVANANTHAPURAM l wednesday l july 31, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 16 l LATE city EDITION ive erat o o p c i et y c o s This is expected to encourage women’s participation in the cooperative sector and promote their leadership, setting an example for other states to follow — Dhan Singh Rawat, state cooperative minister CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA ■ BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOgGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI Valley life ends under rubble 125 killed, many missing in Wayanad as rain-battered hill caves in In possibly the worst natural calamity that has ever hit Kerala, two massive landslides within a span of two-and-a-half hours devoured Chooralmala and Mundakkai in Wayanad district, leaving around 125 dead and nearly 90 missing in the wee hours of Tuesday. As many as 481 people have been rescued. Of them, 113 persons are under treatment. So far, 48 bodies have been identified. The torrent was so strong that several bodies were recovered from Pothukal in Malappuram, around 10kms away from the epicentre of the incident. Most of the victims were washed away in sleep as the landslides occurred at 1.30am and 4am. Huge boulders and uprooted trees gushed downwards to Chooralmala from Mundakkai, causing severe damage. The heavy surge of water from the hilltop changed the nature of the tiny Iruvazhinji river, submerging everything on its banks. Several houses were destroyed, a temple and a mosque were submerged, and a school building severely damaged. Heavy rain and the presence of mud, huge pieces of rocks and trees made rescue operations difficult. Scores of earthmovers were brought in to remove the mud and rocks. Bodies were taken out of the mud with great difficulty. Around 250 people were stranded at Mundakkai as the bridge that connected the area was washed away . Rescue workers tried to reach them using a ropeway but the exercise was time-consuming. The possibility of another landslide also slowed down rescue operations. They were finally rescued on Tuesday evening after the Army constructed a make-shift bridge across the river. Personnel from 122 Infantry Battalion of Territorial Army of the Madras Regiment, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) from different parts of Kerala, Air Force from Coimbatore and fire and rescue services and police took part in the rescue operations that were temporarily halted in the night due to bad weather. Four relief camps have been opened to shift the survivors. The injured have been admitted to various hospitals in Wayanad. Bodies of the victims are kept at the Community Health Centre in Meppadi and WIMS Hospital. A special team of forensic doctors from Kozhikode has reached Wayanad to expedite the post-mortem of recovered bodies. DNA tests will be conducted on unidentified bodies. A police officer said 32 bodies and several body parts were recovered from the banks of the Chaliyar in Malappuram. Two Odisha-natives are among those missing. They are identified as Dr Swadheen Panda and Dr Bishnu Chinhara, Delhi-based doctors who were staying in Mundakkai at the time the tragedy . Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said more personnel from the NDRF and Air Force team will join the rescue operations. All possible efforts will be taken to rescue the stranded people and to recover bodies from the debris, he told reporters in Thiruvananthapuram. Five state ministers are overseeing the rescue operations and North Zone IG and DIG of the state police are camping in Wayanad. A control room has been opened at the state police headquarters. Information received at the control room is passed on to the rescue teams in the respective area. Besides the local police, personnel from the Kerala Armed Police Battalions, Rapid Response and Rescue Force, and Special Operation Group are deployed in Wayanad, he said.  ● More on P2 cooperation on full display in rescue ops Warning system fails to help dist Chooralamala: Courage and swift action were on full display at the landslide-hit areas in Chooralmala and Mundakkai in Wayanad, as different government agencies coordinated the rescue efforts while receiving wholehearted cooperation of the local people. P2 T’Puram: An advanced early warning system for natural disasters, installed by GSI in Wayanad district around 10 days ago, could not help the district mitigate the losses from Tuesday’s landslide, its worst and most deadly natural disaster. P2 E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @Kalpetta INSIDE Ferocity felt in Malappuram as bodies float in chaliyar | p4 Vast sections of Chooralmala, Mundakkai villages swept away 32 bodies recovered from river Chaliyar in Malappuram district 1 Wayanad district has been experiencing torrential rain for the past three days, with rivers in spate and low-lying areas inundated. 2 Around 1.30am on Tuesday, a massive landslide occurs near Mundakkai in Meppadi grama panchayat. Gushing waters and debris sweep away almost the entire village. Wayanad Meppadi Vellarimala An infant being rescued by the National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF) team from the landslide-affected Mundakkai in Wayanad on Tuesday | E Gokul 481 people rescued so far 113 people are under treatment at various hospitals 4 relief camps opened at Meppadi to shift the survivors 3 Prime Minister Narendra Modi announces financial support of I2L from PM’s relief fund to the next of kin of the deceased and I50,000 for the injured Another landslide strikes around 4am (trigger spot yet to be ascertained). River Iruvazhinji gets diverted, resulting in flash floods washing away Chooralmala village, which is 3km away from Mundakkai. Bridge connecting Chooralmala with Mundakkai and Attamala destroyed, stranding hundreds. Rescue personnel take members of a family, who were affected by the landslide at Chooralmala, to safety on Tuesday | Express Distressed by the landslides in parts of Wayanad. My thoughts are with all those who have lost their loved ones and prayers with those injured Prime Minister Narendra Modi on X This is one of the most tragic natural disasters the state has ever seen. All efforts will be taken to rescue the stranded people and to recover bodies from debris Pinarayi Vijayan, CM 4 Tiny rivulet transformed into a big river and reached doorstep, says survivor P o o j a N a ir @Chooralmala Siju Chacko Adimaril, a farmer, and his family in Chooralmala are yet to recover from the trauma of the landslide that has devastated the area. “The sound we heard around 2am on Tuesday was deafening. It was many times higher than the explosion we hear from quarries,” said Siju, one of the few people fortunate enough to have survived the fury of the massive landslide. They are now staying at a relief camp in Meppadi. “Along with my wife and 10-year-old son, I ran out of the house on hearing the noise. My wife is convalescing from a surgery . We walked through the mud in the darkness. We don’t even know how we reached a safe place,” he said. His son is a student of the Vellarmala Government Vocational HSS, which has suffered heavy damage. “The tiny rivulet here has been transformed into a big river and has reached the doorstep of my house. Strangely, I found the carcass of a huge deer on my doorstep. The origin of the landslide might be deep inside the forest and the carcass might have been washed away in the water,” Siju said There was another family residing close to his house. ‘Rain more significant than human factors in triggering landslides’ | p4 “A couple was living there... their children are studying elsewhere. I don’t know where they are now. Around 250 persons were living in the area and I know them well,” said an anxious Siju, who was frantically searching for his dear and near. Siju is constructing a new house at Meppadi and was staying in the old house at Chooralmala for the time being. “It appears like a nightmare to us. We never imagined such a thing would happen to us. I and my family are experiencing some problems with our ears, which could be the fallout of the deafening sound,” he said. Major dams in state still below full capacity | p5 HER-STORY T Manu Bhaker (L) and Sarabjot Singh won bronze in mixed 10m air pistol event on Tuesday | Express Chooralmala Mundakkai cancellation of trains leaves passengers stranded | p4 than a single medal. If anyone ple Olympic medals across needs any more evidence that their career. With two medals those times are long in three days, Manu has past, then just look at founded another club — Manu Bhaker. Most first from Independent athletes spend years TNIE @ olympics India to win multiple training, hoping and medals in a single praying for an Olympic Olympics. medal. Unless one extends A select few get their the definition of being wish. There’s a more an Indian to include NorIndraneel Das exclusive Indian club; man Pritchard who comParis athletes who win multipeted under the flag of Muddy water and debris flow through Soochippara and merge with River Chaliyar located on the border of neighbouring Malappuram district. Around 32 bodies were recovered from the Chaliyar in Pothukal and Chungathara panchayats in Malappuram. 5 The Meppadi region received a rainfall of 572mm in the 48 hours preceding the landslide. RESCUE EFFORTS Personnel from 122 Infantry Battalion of Territorial Army of the Madras Regiment, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) from different parts of Kerala, Air Force from Coimbatore, Fire and Rescue Services and police, besides several volunteer groups are engaged in rescue operations in the landslide hit areas EXPRESS READ With double bronze, Manu pens Paris epic HERE was a time, not too long ago, when India would start holding its breath right after the opening ceremony, wondering when that elusive Olympic medal would come. When it came, it would spark wild celebrations. Indeed, until 2008, only once in the history of independent India had its Olympians come home with more WHAT HAPPENED British India in 1900, Manu is in a league of her own. For a nation that won only two medals in Rio in 2016, Manu’s achievement transcends reality and borders fantasy “The feeling is . still surreal. I did not think I would be winning two medals in one Olympics,” said Manu after winning the bronze medal with Sarabjot Singh in the mixed 10m air pistol event.   More on P11 No state deprived of funds, says FM in LS Howrah-Mumbai Exp derails, 2 killed & 8 hurt New Delhi: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday sought to emphasise that no state was denied funding in the General Budget, while replying to a discussion in the Lok Sabha.Sitharaman termed as misleading claims by the Opposition that if any state is not named in the Budget speech, then it does not get any budgetary allocation. Ranchi: Two persons were killed and eight injured after 18 coaches of Howrah-Mumbai Mail derailed in Jharkhand’s Seraikela-Kharsawan district on Tuesday, officials said. The accident occurred near Barabambo railway station under Chakradharpur division of South Eastern Railway. P8 16 pages, including 4 pages of THIRUVANANTHAPURAM Express