Narayana, Bijimol, and their two children—a 2-year-old son and a 7-year-old daughter—are seen having their final meal together. The little girl looks completely happy, unaware of the tragedy that lay ahead.
Hours after that last innocent family dinner, the Kerala police and rescue teams recovered the bodies of all four family members from the Muvattupuzha River.
Behind this unimaginable tragedy was a crushing cycle of poverty. The family survived on uncertain daily wages and support from people visiting places of worship. They had been evicted from their rented house just days earlier and approached the police for help.
Compassionate local police officers pooled their own money to buy them clothes and arrange a new rented home that very day.
People like them still live among us, silently struggling every day just to survive. Yet, according to the previous Left Kerala government, extreme poverty had been eradicated, and housing, food, and livelihood were guaranteed for all.
This heartbreaking tragedy is a painful reminder that, despite all the promises, some of the most vulnerable people are still being left behind.