Vishnu Varma is Assistant Editor and reports from Kerala for the Hindustan Times. He has 10 years of experience writing for print and digital platforms and has worked at The New York Times, NDTV and The Indian Express in the past. He specialises in longform reportage at the intersections of politics, crime, social commentary and environment.
Articles by Vishnu Varma
Kerala HC nod to extract, preserve gametes of critically ill man
The petitioner said that she wanted to cryopreserve her husband’s gametes in order to bear a child through an ART treatment.
Updated on Aug 22, 2024 06:14 AM IST
Women face sexual harassment, abuse in Mollywood, reveals judicial panel report
Women artists and actors in the Malayalam film industry were routinely asked for sexual favours in exchange for opportunities, told to compromise.
Updated on Aug 20, 2024 08:53 AM IST
Vishnu Varma, Kochi
Kerala govt publishes Hema report on sexual harassment in Malayalam film industry
The 235-page report has recorded sordid accounts of women who testified that they were routinely asked for sexual favours in exchange for work opportunities
Updated on Aug 19, 2024 08:18 PM IST
Survival drama ‘Aadujeevitham’ sweeps Kerala film awards, Prithviraj best actor
Prithviraj Sukumaran, who donned the role of 'Najeeb' in ‘Aadujeevitham’ and was praised for undergoing excruciating physical transformation.
Updated on Aug 16, 2024 01:23 PM IST
Vijayan government faces numerous challenges in rehabilitating Wayanad landslide survivors
The daunting task before the CPI(M)-led state government is now the rehabilitation of the survivors, a vast majority of whom have been robbed of their homes, belongings and livelihoods
Updated on Aug 15, 2024 05:40 AM IST
Vishnu Varma, Kochi
Malayalam film industry: Kerala HC allows release of Justice Hema Committee report
The committee was formed in the backdrop of the 17 February 2017 incident in which a leading Malayali actress was kidnapped by a gang of men and sexually assaulted in a moving car near Kochi.
Published on Aug 13, 2024 08:06 PM IST
PM Modi visits disaster-struck Wayanad, promises help
PM Modi visited disaster-hit Kerala, pledging Union support for relief efforts after massive landslides killed 229 people in Wayanad, leaving 130 missing.
Updated on Aug 11, 2024 03:59 AM IST
Vishnu Varma, Kochi
Experts deny reports of booming sounds, tremors in Wayanad
The National Center for Seismology has denied any seismic activity in Wayanad after residents of several panchayats in the hill district in Kerala reported hearing loud sounds and feeling tremors earlier in the day
Updated on Aug 10, 2024 07:46 AM IST
Vishnu Varma, Kochi
Kerala government unveils financial aid for victims in landslides-hit Wayanad
As part of the financial assistance, two adults in each family, who have lost their livelihoods, will be given ₹300 daily for 30 days.
Updated on Aug 10, 2024 02:03 AM IST
Vishnu Varma, Kochi
People in Wayanad report booming sound, shaking; NCS says no seismic activity
The reports of thunder-like sounds and jerking also came in from panchayats like Nenmeni, Ambalavayal and Vythiri in Wayanad.
Published on Aug 09, 2024 02:36 PM IST
People in Wayanad report booming sound, tremor; no seismic activity, say experts
People from panchayats such as Nenmeni, Ambalavayal and Vythiri in the district complained about hearing mysterious sounds from under the ground.
Published on Aug 09, 2024 02:22 PM IST
Kerala bishop duped of ₹15 lakh by cyber fraudsters, case filed
The Keezhvaipur police in Kerala has booked an FIR based on the complaint of a Christian bishop that he was cheated of ₹15 lakh by cyber frauds who claimed that his bank account was linked to a money laundering case related to Jet Airways founder Naresh Goyal.
Updated on Aug 09, 2024 07:44 AM IST
Vishnu Varma, Kochi
Kerala bishop cheated of ₹15 lakh by cyber fraudsters claiming to be CBI officers
According to the bishop, he also got a video call after an hour later and described what he saw on the call as an office with a CBI emblem and some officers
Updated on Aug 08, 2024 06:05 PM IST
Kerala government to rehabilitate landslide-hit people in 3 phases
A total of 192 body parts, a majority of which are unidentified, have been found so far since July 30
Updated on Aug 08, 2024 07:44 AM IST
Vishnu Varma, Kochi
Wayanad landslides: Both LDF, UDF ask MLAs, MPs to donate in CM relief fund
Kerala's political rivals set aside differences to donate to Chief Minister's Disaster Relief Fund after landslides in Wayanad. ₹53 crore raised.
Updated on Aug 08, 2024 01:22 AM IST
Vishnu Varma, Kochi
Wayanad landslides: 7 body parts found as search operations continue in Kerala
The death toll in the state’s worst monsoon disaster since 2018 remained at 224 while the total number of incomplete body parts found so far went up to 189
Updated on Aug 07, 2024 01:50 AM IST
Vishnu Varma, Kochi
Kerala CM Vijayan attacks Union min for ‘false allegations’ on landslides
Union minister Bhupender Yadav on Monday blamed the Kerala government for allowing ‘illegal human habitat expansion and mining’ in ecologically fragile region.
Updated on Aug 07, 2024 06:34 AM IST
Vishnu Varma, Kochi
Wayanad landslides: 221 dead as agencies continue search ops
On July 30, multiple landslides, flattened the three villages which housed over 400 buildings including homes, mosques, temples, schools, and shops.
Updated on Aug 05, 2024 04:39 AM IST
Vishnu Varma, Kochi
Mass graves, cremations as Wayanad landslides death toll crosses 300
The death toll in the landslides on Friday evening crossed 300 with over 200 still reported to be missing.
Updated on Aug 03, 2024 11:49 AM IST
After 200 die, Wayanad may finally get green protection
The proposal for the ecologically sensitive area (ESA) classification covers six states and 59,940 square km of the Western Ghats (roughly 37% of the range).
Updated on Aug 03, 2024 04:25 AM IST
Jayashree NandiVishnu Varma, New Delhi/wayanad
Search for life continues in Wayanad
The toll from landslides in Wayanad district of Kerala rose to 210 on Friday, while 139 mangled body parts were retrieved from the affected areas
Updated on Aug 03, 2024 06:26 AM IST
Vishnu Varma, Wayanad
Grisly Wayanad toll: 190 bodies, 100 body parts; hunt continues
CM Pinarayi Vijayan, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also visited the disaster-hit region
Updated on Aug 02, 2024 06:20 AM IST
Man loses 26 family members in tragedy
A man in Kerala, India, embodies the human cost of a tragic landslide. Over 290 dead, 200+ missing. One man searches for his missing family members.
Updated on Aug 02, 2024 05:04 AM IST
Vishnu Varma, Meppadi
In Wayanad, a community emerges to help with relief
Relief camps in Meppadi, Kerala provide food, water, and medical aid to over 300 flood-displaced people, with lessons from 2018 floods being applied.
Updated on Aug 01, 2024 11:18 PM IST
Vishnu Varma, Meppadi
Kerala health centre grapples with tragedy as bodies rushed in
There is now a morbid process in place. As policemen shout out instructions, ambulances scream into the compound every few minutes.
Updated on Aug 01, 2024 06:04 AM IST
Vishnu Varma, Meppadi (wayanad)
Rescue hit by rain, debris as Wayanad deaths soar to 193
A day after the state’s worst monsoon tragedy since 2018, teams from the army and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) struggled against the treacherous terrain
Updated on Aug 01, 2024 05:00 AM IST
Vishnu Varma, Wayanad
‘We have lost 90% of villagers’: Grief takes over remote Kerala town
A day after twin landslides within a span of three hours rocked Chooralmala and the adjoining settlements of Mundakkai and Attamala, these villages were unrecognisable.
Updated on Aug 01, 2024 05:00 AM IST
Vishnu Varma, Chooralmala
Wayanad landslides: Search, rescue ops restart amid forecast for bad weather
The rescue efforts were on Wednesday expected to centre around Mundakkayi village, which was completely cut off for the better part of Tuesday
Published on Jul 31, 2024 08:34 AM IST
Kerala landslide: Fog, collapse of bridge hamper rescue efforts
It is the destruction of this bridge which, officials said, has completely cut off Mundakkai, and made any escape or entry into the region difficult.
Updated on Jul 31, 2024 08:17 AM IST
Vishnu Varma, Kochi
Kerala landslide: Houses washed away; many still missing
Those frantic hours were a whirlwind, fresh in 33-year-old Safna Tuttu’s mind. Her family – her husband Nishad and their 14-year-old son – were all fast asleep in their single-storey house in Chooralmala in Kerala’s Wayanad district.
Updated on Jul 31, 2024 03:00 AM IST
Vishnu Varma, Wayanad