Tuesday, Aug 06, 2013
Thiruvananthapuram: As the downpour in Kerala eased a bit on Tuesday, a road accident brought further grief to the state, taking the lives of four people from a family.
The deceased were identified as Damodaran (70), his son Shiby, and Shiby’s children Amaldev (8) and Ahalya (5). The car in which the family was travelling towards Kanjirappally collided head on with a lorry coming in the opposite direction. Shiby’s wife, mother and mother-in-law were admitted to hospital with serious injuries.
Early reports said a pothole on the road at the accident site may have led to the mishap. Shiby, who was driving the car, is believed to have swerved the car to avoid a pothole, and thus come in the path of the lorry.
The accident happened on the Kanjirappally-Erattupetta road in Kottayam district. The family belonged to Koottickal in the same district, and was on a trip to a temple in Tiruvalla to pay ritual obeisance to departed souls in the family.
Elsewhere in the state, the rain affected areas were struggling to come back to normal as earth movers worked non-stop to clear debris from roads and homesteads. Chief minister Oommen Chandy made a visit to Idukki district where over a dozen people were killed in landslides on Monday. The chief minister has requested a federal cabinet team to visit Idukki in the backdrop of the natural calamity. He said the calamity was “without parallel”.
District administrations have declared holidays for educational institutions in Kozhikode and Idukki. The met department has predicted more rains in the state for two more days.
Water level in the Mullaperiyar dam on the Kerala-Tamil Nadu border is nearing its capacity of 136 ft. Kerala has requested Tamil Nadu to draw as much water as possible from the dam, but the call has not been heeded, complained authorities in Kerala.
The Nedumbassery airport which was closed on Monday owing to flooding was reopened today. The one-day closure is estimated to have affected more than 11,000 passengers.
By Akhel Mathew Correspondent
Gulf News 2013. All rights reserved.
