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Pothanikad, a village in grief

Photo: VipinChandran

Inconsolable: Mother of Pratheesh, one of the victims of Pothanikad accident, breaks down on seeing his body on Friday. -

POTHANIKKAD: On Friday, the entire State was focussed on Pothanikad, the village tucked deep into rubber plantations off Kothamangalam. Too much of attention built up the tension, which broke out when the bodies of the victims of the accident on Thursday were brought to the Pothanikad Farmers’ Cooperative Bank Golden Jubilee Auditorium.

Ministers Mons Joseph, Mathew T. Thomas and K.P. Rajendran accompanied the bodies from the Government Hospital where autopsies were done. The funeral procession started from the hospital at 11.30 a.m. and reached the auditorium in an hour.

By that time, the entire population of Pothanikad was on the streets. The doors to the auditorium had to be closed while Catholicos Baselios Thomas I, Mar George Punnathottil, bishop of Kothamangalam diocese, vicar-general Fr. Francis Alappatt and Pothanikad Catholic church vicar Fr John Elangodath led the final rites.

Leader of the Opposition Oommen Chandy, senior Congress leaders V.M. Sudheeran, K. Mohammed Ali, M.M. Hassan, T.H. Mustafah, M.I. Shanavas, Thalekunnil Basheer, Kodikunnil Suresh, V.J. Poulose, K.P. Dhanapalan, and M.A. Chandrasekharan, MLAs K. Babu, M.M. Monayee, V.K. Ebrahim Kunju, M.J. Jacob, V.D. Satheeshan and Alphonse Kannanthanam, former ministers T.M. Jacob and T.U. Kuruvilla, State president of the Bharatiya Dalit Congress K. Vidyadharan, Vice-Chancellor of the Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit K.S. Radhakrishnan were among those who paid homage to the dead.

The lorry, which received the brunt of public ire, was still at the accident site.

Despite the Congress observing a hartal in the area as a mark of respect to the dead, some shops were seen functioning.

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