Heart-wrenching reunions, tears: Survivors of the landslides cast votes in emotional bypoll scene in Wayanad
Scenes over at the Kokkalott project in Wayanad district of Kerala, which witnessed scenes, nothing short of pure emotions, as landslide survivors on Tuesday reunited with their neighbors and friends to cast votes for the Lok Sabha bypoll. It was on July 30 that the landslide occurred, devastatingly causing total destruction in villages, ripping out communities, and leaving many survivors separated from their neighbours and friends.
For the survivors, months of separation from loved ones resulted in waves of emotions when familiar faces lined up to vote. Hugs, tears, and warm words were exchanged in the polling areas as friends and neighbors remembered the happier times before the catastrophe, when they enjoyed festivals together as a single people. One elderly man in Punchirimattam was especially moved when he recalled the feelings during celebrations, the people from different faiths and backgrounds coming together to mark every occasion, so bonding together like family.
On a bus made available to take the survivors to the polling stations, the aged man was consoled by one of his friends who gave him words of hope: Don't cry, everything will turn out to be fine. This was the emotion echoed through the conversations as people reunited and caught up on each other's lives.
Now, whenever we see them after such a long gap, the first question we ask is where they are staying, rather than how they are doing," she said in an interview with reporters, pointing to the change in their lives and priorities. Since the landslides, survivors have been scattered to different parts of the district for temporary relocation or rehabilitation, she added.
As a symbolic gesture of solidarity with those affected, the government provided special vehicle service to take landslide survivors from their temporary homes to the polling stations so that people could exercise their right to vote. Over 200 people had lost their lives in the Wayanad landslides and hundreds of homes had been destroyed in Punchirimattam, Chooralmala, and Mundakkai among different villages. The tragedy helped leave its mark on the community's psyche, and a reunion at the polls would permit survivors to feel a moment of solace and solidarity in a difficult journey-a rebuilding of their lives.
