KOZHIKODE: They had lived as one in the villages of Mundakkai and Puthumala before the catastrophic landslides washed them away seven days ago and mutilated their bodies so severely that they were unidentifiable even to their loved ones.
Twenty-nine unidentified but complete bodies and parts of 154 bodies were interred in graves on 64 cents of land (1 cent is 1/100th of an acre) at Puthumala after a solemn funeral function of around seven hours that extended late into Monday night.
Meanwhile, six bodies were found in the search conducted on Monday, the seventh day of the catastrophic Mundakkai landslide, taking the official death toll to 407 (226 complete bodies and the remainder body parts from 181 bodies) and the number of missing to 186.
Of the bodies recovered on Monday, five were found in Wayanad and one in Nilambur downstream.
The bodies and body parts were interred as all-faith prayers were recited, encompassing Hindu, Muslim and Christian beliefs. Fourteen women and 13 men were among those buried. Three bodies that could not be identified as male or female (due to mutilation by the elements) were also interred.
The remains were brought to the burial ground in a convoy of ambulances in batches from 3.30pm onwards. Some were the size of small packs that could be held in a hand, the remains wrapped in white cloth. The landslide victims had been swept over 25km down the Chaliyar river.
They were laid to rest and individual numbers corresponding to their DNA samples were inscribed onto concrete markers installed over the graves.
The process to identify corpses using scientific methods is underway. As many as 83 blood samples have been collected so far for DNA examination.
Revenue minister K Rajan said another 50 cents of land belonging to Harrisson Malayalam plantation will be taken over under the Disaster Management Act for the funerals of bodies and body parts of unidentified people.
Twenty-nine unidentified but complete bodies and parts of 154 bodies were interred in graves on 64 cents of land (1 cent is 1/100th of an acre) at Puthumala after a solemn funeral function of around seven hours that extended late into Monday night.
Meanwhile, six bodies were found in the search conducted on Monday, the seventh day of the catastrophic Mundakkai landslide, taking the official death toll to 407 (226 complete bodies and the remainder body parts from 181 bodies) and the number of missing to 186.
Of the bodies recovered on Monday, five were found in Wayanad and one in Nilambur downstream.
The bodies and body parts were interred as all-faith prayers were recited, encompassing Hindu, Muslim and Christian beliefs. Fourteen women and 13 men were among those buried. Three bodies that could not be identified as male or female (due to mutilation by the elements) were also interred.
The remains were brought to the burial ground in a convoy of ambulances in batches from 3.30pm onwards. Some were the size of small packs that could be held in a hand, the remains wrapped in white cloth. The landslide victims had been swept over 25km down the Chaliyar river.
They were laid to rest and individual numbers corresponding to their DNA samples were inscribed onto concrete markers installed over the graves.
The process to identify corpses using scientific methods is underway. As many as 83 blood samples have been collected so far for DNA examination.
Revenue minister K Rajan said another 50 cents of land belonging to Harrisson Malayalam plantation will be taken over under the Disaster Management Act for the funerals of bodies and body parts of unidentified people.