When the July 30 landslides killed her parents, sister and six other relatives, S. Sruthi, 24, had clung to her fiancé Jenson for support.

But days before they were to marry, tragedy struck again. On September 13, Jenson was killed in a road accident that left Sruthi with severe injuries to both legs.

Yet no trace of self-pity or bitterness showed on her face on Monday when news photographers and TV crew surrounded her as she arrived at the Wayanad district collectorate to join her new job, granted on compassionate grounds.

She flashed a smile at the crowd of journalists as, clad in a red-and-white salwar kameez with a crutch under her left arm, she got off the car, belonging to a relative with whom she has been staying.

Sruthi was an employee at the accounts department of a private hospital in Kozhikode, north Kerala, when twin landslides ravaged her village of Chooralmala and neighbouring Mundakkai in the early hours of July 30, claiming over 420 lives.

Sruthi and Jenson at the Puthumala graveyard in landslide-hit Wayanad on August 30. Jenson died in a car accident a fortnight later. PTI

She lost her father Sivanna, mother Sabitha, younger sister Sreya, paternal uncle and aunt Siddaraj and Divya, and their son Lakshvath Krishna apart from her maternal grandmother and two maternal uncles. Her mother was a panchayat member attached to the CPI.

With her long-time friend Jenson’s unwavering support and love giving her the courage to move on, the couple decided to marry. But a road accident shattered her hopes.

Jenson, who was driving the van they were travelling in, died of his head injuries. Sruthi’s leg injuries required the placement of an external fixator — a metal frame designed to hold her bones in place.

She walked with two crutches initially, but now uses just one for her bandaged left leg.

Sruthi told The Telegraph on Monday that she had arrived to take up her new job as a postal clerk with some trepidation.

“On the first day of school or college, or a job, there is a sense of apprehension. But everyone at the office was very friendly, kind and welcoming,” she said.

“I’m thankful to everyone for rendering all help to me. On the first day, I met everyone at my section and got introduced. The real job will start only from Tuesday.”

The day was not without its challenges. “Since I had to walk and stand for a
long time (while completing the formalities), my feet have become swollen,”
she said.

Sruthi has been appointed a clerk with the postal section of the revenue department. The general administration department had on November 28 cleared her appointment after the Wayanad collector reported the vacancy.

On Monday, she was accompanied by CPI Wayanad district secretary E.J. Babu and the former Kalpetta MLA, C.K. Saseendran of the CPM.

Sruthi handed the joining report to K. Devaki, additional district magistrate, after completing the official formalities.

She may not be fully fit but Sruthi is looking forward to her new life: “The distance from my relative’s home to my new office is hardly 15-20 minutes by auto-rickshaw,” she told this newspaper.

Congratulating Sruthi, chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan wrote on his Facebook page: “The concern that no one should be left alone when facing crises is what creates high models of survival. Kerala, which has faced a series of epidemics and natural disasters, is moving forward beyond all miseries because of the strength of our sense of unity.”

Funds gripe

Pinarayi hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying not a rupee had been granted to the state as special financial aid following the landslides.

“I’m strongly condemning the Union minister’s (Amit Shah’s) claims that there had been inordinate delay on the state’s part, which is nothing but misleading,” Pinarayi said.

“It’s been 100 days since the PM visited Wayanad. Several other states have since got the central grant but unfortunately, Kerala is yet to get a rupee as grant.”