Migrant family of three dies in Tirthahalli landslip hours before planned return

A landslip triggered by heavy rain in Tirthahalli town, Karnataka, killed a migrant family of three in the early hours of Sunday. The victims were identified as Mallikarjun, 30, his wife Nagaveni, 27, and their three-year-old son Santhosh. They were from Kakkaragol village in Karatagi taluk, Koppal district.

The family was among four families from the same village who had arrived in Tirthahalli on Thursday in search of work. They were staying in sheds with zinc sheet roofs at Gandhi Nagar, an area where many migrant workers from north Karnataka have set up temporary dwellings. Around 25 people were in the sheds when the landslip struck.

Lakshmi, a relative who was in an adjacent compartment, described the frantic escape. “We woke up to the sound of something falling on the roof sheets. My brother, who was in the adjacent compartment, alerted everyone to move out,” she said. Most residents managed to run to safety, but those in compartments closest to the base of the hillock could not get out in time. The sheds were built almost against the hillock, leaving little time for those at the back to react. Within minutes, the wall of mud and rock collapsed, burying everything in its path.

Rescue teams, working with earthmovers, retrieved the bodies of the three after several hours of effort. Officials said when the bodies were found, Nagaveni and her son were still holding each other. The couple had left their two daughters behind in their native village and had brought only their youngest child with them.

Lakshmi said the families had been discussing their travel plans on Saturday night, before going to bed. They had decided to return home because the continuous rain had made it difficult for the women to find daily work. “We were looking for jobs. But as the heavy rain set in over the last two days, we had all decided to return home,” she said. “We would have left today, but destiny had something else in store for the family.”

The family that died owned two acres of agricultural land in their village, but the income was not enough to meet basic needs. Lakshmi said the tragedy underscored the hardship that pushes people to migrate long distances. “If we had received the kind of rain that lashed Tirthahalli these past two days in our own village, we would never have left home and travelled so far in search of a living,” she said.

Tirthahalli lies in the Malnad region, which receives heavy rainfall during the monsoon. Hundreds of people from the drier districts of north Karnataka migrate here every year in search of jobs on plantations, construction sites, and quarries. Somanath, a migrant worker from Lingasaguru in Raichur district, said he had travelled to Tirthahalli with his wife and two sons to work on plantations. His sons, aged 17 and 14, have given up their studies to work alongside him. He earns ₹800 a day, which he says is good money compared with what farming yields back home.

The workers had been allotted vacant land at Gandhi Nagar, where they had put up zinc-sheet sheds divided into compartments. They would cook meals early and leave for work, returning only in the evening. After the landslip, the taluk administration shifted all the workers to a temporary care centre at Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Bhavan in the town. Officials said the area would be inspected before any decision is taken on allowing workers to stay there again.

The incident has also drawn attention to the precarious living conditions of migrant workers, who often stay in temporary shelters vulnerable to natural hazards. Local authorities have announced compensation for the families of the victims.