KL sinkhole victim’s family conducts religious ceremony at scene before leaving for India

KL sinkhole victim’s family light oil lamps & ring bells in Hindu ritual at scene

Unable to return home with her, the family of a woman who fell into a sinkhole in Kuala Lumpur conducted a Hindu ritual at the scene on Sunday (1 Sept).

The husband, son and sister of 48-year-old Indian tourist G. Vijayalakshmi were seen at Jalan Masjid India, where she disappeared into the ground, reported Astro Awani.

KL sinkhole victim’s family returned to India on 1 Sept

At the site, they lit oil lamps and rang bells as part of a Hindu religious ceremony.

As a police officer watched, one of them was also seen taking a clump of soil and putting it in a plastic bag, possibly to bring home.

The family, who hails from the city of Kuppam in India’s Andhra Pradesh state, reportedly returned home on the same day.

Search operation suspended after a fruitless 9 days

Their return came the day after the Malaysian authorities suspended the search and rescue (SAR) operation for Ms Vijayalakshmi, citing safety reasons.

She was swallowed up by the sinkhole on 23 Aug while on a shopping trip along Jalan Masjid India, a bustling stretch of streetside retailers and stalls.

Nine days of operations involving multiple rescue techniques proved to be fruitless in turning up any trace of her whereabouts.

Compensation for KL sinkhole victim’s family to be discussed

Meanwhile, the Malaysian Government will discuss compensation for the victim’s family, according to Astro Awani.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Federal Territories) Zaliha Mustafa was quoted as saying on Sunday that the proposal would be brought up during a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday (4 Sept).

The day before, she had said that the Government was prepared to consider providing compensation to the family.

Reconstruction of affected area to take 3-6 months: Mayor

As for the affected 200m stretch of road, its restoration and reconstruction would take three to six months, KL Mayor Maimunah Mohd Sharif told Astro Awani.

That’s because it would include detailed studies on the area involving integrity audits, inspections of the water supply drainage systems and geological stability studies.

A special committee, formed on 25 Aug, will hold discussions on Monday (2 Sept) over the next steps for the road.

Retailers in the area could resume business as usual but members of the public were advised not to cross the police yellow tape.

Visitors return to street again

The Star reported that visitors started to throng the street again on 1 Sept after a lull in business during the nine days of SAR operations.

A visitor hoped the road’s restoration could be completed as soon as possible so shoppers would “return in droves”.

Earlier on Friday (30 Aug), Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim had assured tourists that KL was safe, reported The Star.

He said a geotechnical study had established the cause of the incident and found that the capital was safe.

His remarks came two days after a second sinkhole appeared on Jalan Masjid India on 28 Aug, 50m from the sinkhole that Ms Vijayalakshmi fell into.

Also read: M’sian authorities suspend sinkhole rescue operation due to safety concerns, will transition to recovery mission

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Featured image adapted from Source: Astro AWANI on X and Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur on Facebook.