Kerala: Boat mishap victims rested

Malappuram: People in Naranippuzha mourned on Wednesday the deaths of six children who were drowned after a country boat capsized in backwaters on Tuesday. Thousands of people, family members and teachers paid their last respect to the victims while the village in Nannammuku panchayat wore a gloomy look.  The bodies of Praseena, Pooja, Janisha and Vaishna were cremated at Kottathara public crematorium while the cremation of Adidev and Adhinath held at their houses in Perumukku and Panampad. The people of Nannamukku and nearby Alamkode panchayats observed dawn to dust hartal to mourn the deaths.

Earlier, the bodies were kept for public viewing after completing the inquest procedures by the police. Though the autopsy was scheduled to be held at Taluk Hospital in Ponnani on Wednesday, it was cancelled through a special order by the government. The order was issued on Wednesday morning after the relatives of the deceased requested Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Speaker P. Sreeramakrishnan to avoid post-mortem. The hospital expenses of all the victims of the tragedy will also be paid by the government. The state government has announced compensation of Rs 1 lakh from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund and Rs 10,000 for each family have been distributed on Wednesday.

Besides Chief Minister and Speaker, ministers C. Raveenranath, A.C Moideen, opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala, Abid Husain Thangal MLA, N. Shamsudheen MLA, V.T Balram MLA and officials from various departments also visited the family of the deceased. The tragic incident took place at around 5 pm on Tuesday at Naranippuzha when the boat carrying nine overturned in the backwaters which is a part of Biyyam Kayal. Three including 55 year old Velayudhan who rowed the boat were rescued. Velayudhan is still remain in critical condition at a private hospital in Thrissur.