Dog waits for master at Munnar landslip site

Amidst the boulders and slush at the landslip site at Pettimudy, near Rajamala, a dog has been waiting for the return of its master. The family which cared for it and the estate lane where it lived have been buried under the boulders and earth that gushed in on the ill-fated night on Thursday.

Notwithstanding the rain and mist, it stands amidst the debris. Sometimes it makes way when the National Disaster Response Force team searches the spot and then returns to the spot as if to tell the rescue workers that his master is under the debris there.

As the search operations continued on Monday, the sight of the dog created painful moments for the people gathered at the landslip site. Some of them tried to feed the dog, which was reluctant to eat or move.

How the dog survived the tragedy is a mystery as the search teams have already unearthed the carcasses of cattle, besides the crumbled remains of a jeep, a car and motorbikes from the area.

“A local resident took the dog away and tried to feed it. But it refused to eat and barked continuously. Later it returned to the spot,” said Manoj Galaxy, a Ham radio operator camping in the area for the past three days. He said nobody could identify the family to which the dog belonged.

All the four estate lanes at the site have been wiped off by the landslip and over 70 of its residents are either dead or missing.