Wayanad (Kerala) |A heavy silence hung over the mist-covered hills of the Mundakkai-Chooralmala region in this district on Wednesday, as hundreds gathered to mark the first anniversary of the devastating landslide that claimed more than 250 lives last year.

At Puthumala, where a common graveyard was created for the victims, grief was palpable.

Many visitors remained silent, while others wept, remembering loved ones who were buried alive in the landslides triggered by heavy monsoon rains on the intervening night of July 29 and 30, 2024.

Hundreds thronged ‘hridaya bhoomi' (heart land), the burial site of 264 victims located in Meppadi panchayat, to pay their respects.

The panchayat had named the site ‘heart land' in memory of the tragedy that shattered countless families.

"This is a day we never want to remember, but the memories linger," said Manoj, who lost 26 members of his extended family in the disaster. He was away from his native village when the landslide struck.

"We cannot even look at each other, trying to hold back our tears," he told PTI Videos.

Prashanthan, another survivor, said his immediate family narrowly escaped, but his brother and his brother's family were swept away.

"My brother's body was later recovered from the Chaliyar river. Our homes were destroyed. I couldn't sleep last night, thinking of all that we lost," he said.

The bodies, belonging to members of various communities, were buried side by side with numbered markers on each grave. DNA testing helped identify 130 victims. Though families were offered the option of taking the bodies for individual religious rites and burial elsewhere, many declined, saying, "Let those who lived together, rest together." A memorial meeting was held at Meppadi, attended by political leaders and other prominent figures. An all-faith prayer gathering was also held in the morning.