A pall of gloom descended on the Lower Primary School at Makkimala in Wayanad on Saturday where the mortal remains of nine women tea plantation workers who were killed in a road accident at Kannothumala were kept for the public to pay homage on Saturday.
Five persons, including the jeep driver Mani, sustained serious injuries in the accident.
Mr. Mani who is undergoing treatment at the Government Medical College Hospital at Mananthavady said he had lost control of the vehicle owing to a breakdown following which it fell into a gorge.
Heart-rending scenes were witnessed during the last journey of the accident victims to Makkimala from the Government Medical College Hospital after autopsies.
The funeral procession, carrying the bodies of the women in nine ambulances, started from Mananthavady at around 12 p.m. and reached Makkimala around 1.15 p.m. The public gathered on both sides of the Mananthavady-Kannur State Highway to pay their last respects to the deceased.
Later, the mortal remains were kept at the Lower Primary School at Makkimala till 2 p.m. for the public to pay their last respects. Thousands of people gathered there to pay their homage .
What was even more tragic was that a mother and daughter – Santa, wife of Padmanabhan of Aram Number Colony at Makkimala, and daughter, Chitra, the breadwinners of the family, were killed in the accident.
Later, the bodies were handed over to their relatives, buried and cremated with religious rites at different places in the area.
Forest Minister A.K. Saseendran oversaw the funeral rites accompanied by MLAs O.R. Kelu, T. Siddique and I.C. Balakrishnan. They also paid homage to the deceased.
Meanwhile, the Kerala Human Rights Commission registered a suo motu case in connection with the accident. Commission member K. Baijunath directed the Wayanad District Collector and police chief to submit separate reports in fifteen days on the accident.
Shops and establishments in Mananthavady town had downed shutters from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in respect to the deceased.
