Mahboob, a teacher at the government school in the landslide-hit Vellarmala area of Chooralmala village, says he cannot imagine going back even if the school is rebuilt.

Too many people he knew, including 20-odd children and their parents, are believed dead and many more are still missing. The toll of the Wayanad landslides is estimated to have climbed to 290.

“No more. I can’t go there any more,” the native of neighbouring Malappuram district said.

Adil, one of the youngest teachers and a native of Wayanad, said: “This was perhaps the most beautiful place in the country. The people are so innocent and the children so loving.”

His voice choked and he fell silent.

Unnikrishnan, another teacher at the Government Vocational Higher Secondary School, only part of which is left standing, cannot complete a sentence without breaking down.

He says the school brought the teachers together and made them a part of the local community, made up mostly of plantation workers and their families.

With so many villagers dead or missing, it won’t be the same even if the school is rebuilt, he says. At least, that is how he feels now.

“I keep praying that no one has to face such a disaster. Our minds are frozen,” the native of Alappuzha, over 300km to the south, said, speaking also for the other teachers who were with him.

The teachers survived because they lived in areas unaffected by the landslides.

“Everyone in this area is one family,” Unnikrishnan said. “The local people are so loving, we never felt we were working here and were not part of their families. They made us feel completely at home, as did the guardians of the pupils.”

Between sobs, Unnikrishnan added: “You couldn’t have tea in a teashop without someone picking up the tab, or get off a bus with luggage that someone wouldn’t pick up immediately and carry for you.”

Mahboob said the tragedy was all the more numbing for him since the teachers virtually functioned as the guardians of the children while their parents worked in the plantations.

“Many among the local people work in plantations; they knew their children were safe inside the school compound. We were the (de facto) guardians of these children,” he said, unable to stop crying.

Chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan told a news conference in Wayanad that the pupils of all the schools in landslide-hit areas would be provided with alternative locations for makeshift classes.

None of the schools in Mundakkai and Chooralmala — the two worst-hit villages, 3km apart — have functioned since Tuesday’s landslide.

“The education of the children will be treated as a priority…. What can be done immediately is to provide education where the children are. The local bodies and the education department will make arrangements for that,” Vijayan said.

The children and their parents, many of whom are in relief camps, will be provided with expert counselling to overcome any mental trauma.

Vijayan said the about 8,000 survivors who have taken refuge in the relief camps would be rehabilitated but “they would have to stay there (in the camps) for some more time”.

“These camps will have to ensure the privacy of each of the families,” he added.

He did not elaborate, but it’s likely that partitions would be put up in the dormitories.

A four-member cabinet sub-committee of ministers K. Rajan, P.A. Mohammed Riyas, A.K. Saseendran and O.R. Keli is coordinating relief and rehabilitation.