Wayanad landslide: Santhwanam lends a hand to victim from Bihar

Ravi Roshan Kumar, a landslide survivor, fulfills his mother's final wish with help from volunteers in Wayanad.

Ravi Roshan Kumar, 22, who hails from Bhagwanpur in Vaishali district of Bihar, had shifted to Wayanad with his family to work in a tea factory of a private tea estate. They were happy in their new surroundings, until their lives were shattered by the catastrophic landslide near Chooralmala this week.

Kumar lost his mother and three members of his family went missing in the landslide. With no immediate relatives left and having lost all his savings in the tragedy, the youth stared at a bleak future. His mother had always dreamt of returning to her birthplace in Bhagwanpur, and Kumar was determined to honour his mother’s wish by taking her ashes back to the town for immersion.

Kumar’s relatives contacted the Patna office of Santhwanam, a volunteer group under the Sunni Yuvajana Sangham (SYS), for help. “They brought Kumar’s plight to the attention of our volunteers working in the disaster-stricken area and they stepped in to provide crucial support,” said S. Sharafudheen, Wayanad general secretary of Kerala Muslim Jamath.

“Understanding the gravity of the youth’s situation, we arranged a flight ticket and other necessary assistance for him to return to Bhagwanpur and fulfill his mother’s wish by immersing her ashes in the river in their village,” he said.

Kumar left for Bihar on August 3 morning. Wayanad district president of Kerala Muslim Jamath O.K. Ahmad Kutty Baqavi, along with Mr. Sharafudheen and other leaders of the organisation, saw him off.