People living in the Anakkallu region of Pothukal panchayat near Nilambur ran out of their homes in terror following a loud sound from under the earth on Tuesday (October 29, 2024) night. They said it was like thunder from under the earth.

However, no tremour was reported officially. Revenue officials reached the spot and shifted the residents to the houses of their relatives in neighbouring villages.

People said they felt like a tremour, and one house developed a crack.

Kavalappara, which witnessed a massive landslide in which 59 people were killed in 2019, is near the site from where the thundering sound was reported on Tuesday (October 29, 2024) night.

Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) State secretariat member and former Minister for Local Administration K. Kutty Ahammed Kutty, 71, passed away at his house at Tanur on Sunday morning. He was leading a retired life for the past several years.

A well-read and much respected leader within the IUML, Kutty handled Local Administration portfolio in the 2004 Oommen Chandy-led Cabinet. He retired from active politics after he suffered serious injuries in a car accident at Chavara in February 2005.

He was elected to the Kerala Assembly three times, in 1992 from Tanur, in 1996 and 2001 from Tirurangadi. One of the incorruptible faces in the State politics, Kutty stood out not only for his simplicity, but for his craving for knowledge as well. His pro-environment thoughts made him the ‘greenest’ face within the IUML.

As Minister for Local Administration, he had raised the demand for local courts. He was instrumental in constructing seawalls along the coast of Malappuram district.

He was the president of Tanur grama panchayat two times. Kutty held several positions within the IUML, including that of State vice-president and Tanur constituency president. He was the Malappuram district president of Swathanthra Matsya Thozhilali Union and vice-president of Malappuram District Council. He was also the governing body chairperson of SSM Polytechnic College, Tirur.

Apart from IUML leaders like Syed Sadikali Shihab Thangal; P.K. Kunhalikutty; E.T. Mohammed Basheer, MP; M.P. Abdussamad Samadani, MP; M.K. Muneer; and P.M.A. Salam, many leading politicians offered their condolences. Among them were Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Assembly Speaker A.N. Shamseer, Local Self-Governments Minister M.B. Rajesh, Sports Minister V. Abdurahiman, Power Minister K. Krishnankutty, Congress State president K. Sudhakaran, and Congress leaders Ramesh Chennithala and K.C. Venugopal.

He was buried at Vadakke Juma Masjid graveyard on Sunday evening. He is survived by wife, Jahanara, sons, Suhas Ahammed and Shahabas Ahammed, and daughter, Suhana.

An archaeologist examins a rock-cut burial chamber during a salvage excavation at Nagaparamba, near Kerala’s Tirunavaya. Photo: Special Arrangement

A large number of megalithic hat stones were found from a single site during a recent archaeological salvage excavation conducted by the State Archaeology Department at Nagaparamba in Kuttippuram village, near Tirunavaya, in the district.

Hat stones, popularly called Thoppikkallu in Malayalam, are hemispherical laterite stones used as lid on burial urns during the megalithic period.

Archaeologists say it could arguably be the largest number of hat stones in an unprotected site in the State. Many hat stones are feared to have been destroyed inadvertently by the local people in recent times. Some of the local people say they had no idea about the archaeological relevance of the hat stones and many were destroyed when they cleared their land for house construction.

“We need to conduct a detailed survey and document the finds as well as the site,” says archaeologist K. Krishnaraj, officer in charge of the Pazhassi Raja Archaeological Museum, Kozhikode, who led the recent salvage excavation.

Burial sites

A large number of megalithic burial sites and relics were found at Nagaparamba during the salvage excavation. Mr. Krishnaraj and colleagues were called in when a unique rock cut laterite burial chamber was found during a pipeline work. They salvaged a large number of earthen urns and iron implements with unique features, which could ostensibly throw light on the life and culture of people who lived in those parts more than 2,000 years ago.

“The architectural features of the rock cut cave are different. The pots we recovered too are different from the usual urns found in such sites,” says Mr. Krishnaraj.

Ashes were found in the pots recovered from the chamber as well as from under the hat stones. “We used to get cremated bones from the urns. The ashes we found are special,” says Mr. Krishnaraj.

The local people of Tirunavaya and its neighbourhoods are excited about the hemispherical hat stones recovered from Nagaparamba. Even when demanding the preservation of the archaeological site, they say Tirunavaya deserves a heritage status.

“The government should consider the historic significance of Tirunavaya on the banks of the Bharathapuzha and declare it as a heritage village,” says Salman Karimbanakkal, a teacher and archaeology enthusiast.