Wayanad: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday assured the Centre will provide all possible help in the relief and rehabilitation efforts in the landslides-hit areas of Wayanad district.
Modi said everyone’s prayers were with the survivors of the landslides, which he said had ‘shattered’ the dreams of several families.
The Centre will stand together with the Kerala government on helping those who lost everything in the disaster, he said. The landlides have claimed the lives of 226 people so far, while over 130 are missing.
The PM was speaking during a meeting held at the District Collectorate here to review the situation on the ground and work out a plan for the rehabilitation of the landslide victims.
Ever since the tragedy unfolded, he has been in “touch here” and receiving constant updates.
He said he heard from the survivors what they witnessed and experienced and termed the landslides as nature displaying its “furious form.”
Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Union Minister Suresh Gopi, ministers of a cabinet sub-committee camping near the disaster site, senior bureaucrats and officials of the local administration were present in the meeting.
Earlier in the day, Modi arrived in Wayanad by helicopter from Kannur airport where he landed around 11 am on Air India One.
On the way to Wayanad, he carried out an aerial survey of the landslide-ravaged areas of Chooralmala, Mundakkai, and Punchirimattam hamlets aboard an Indian Air Force helicopter.
Thereafter, he landed at the SKMJ Higher Secondary School in Kalpetta here and then travelled by road to Chooralmala, where a 190-foot-long Bailey bridge had been built by the army after the disaster.
The PM walked on the bridge, while surveying the damage.
He also trekked through the disaster-stricken Chooralmala to get a firsthand view of the destruction caused by the July 30 landslides.
Modi also visited one of the relief camps, which is home to many of those displaced in the massive landslides, and interacted with some of the survivors, including two children who lost their loved ones in the disaster that has claimed over 200 lives.
He spoke to them, heard their concerns and needs, and tried to comfort them, according to visuals shown on TV channels.
Modi placed his hands on the heads and shoulders of the victims as they broke into tears while recounting their ordeal to the PM.
Modi also went to Dr Moopen’s Medical College where many of those injured in the landslides are undergoing treatment, met with some of the survivors and assured them of all requisite help.
After the review meeting got over, the PM left for the SKMJ Higher Secondary School in Kalpetta from where he will travel by helicopter back to Kannur airport.
Earlier, the PM, who arrived in the hill district by a helicopter from Kannur airport, trekked through the disaster-stricken Chooralmala area to get a firsthand view of the destruction caused by the July 30 landslides.
Modi carried out an aerial survey of the dsaster-hit areas in Wayanad. He observed the landslide-ravaged regions of Chooralmala, Mundakkai, and Punchirimattom from an Indian Air Force helicopter. The Prime Minister departed for Wayanad from Kannur Airport at around 11:15 AM.
He landed at the SKMJ Higher Secondary School in Kalpetta and then travelled by road to Chooralmala, where a 190-foot-long Bailey bridge had been built by the army after the disaster.
The PM walked on the bridge, while surveying the damage.
After reaching Chooralmala, Modi got down from his vehicle, interacted with rescue personnel, state chief secretary V Venu and district officials, and surveyed the area–strewn with boulders and debris– on foot.
He was accompanied by Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Union Minister Suresh Gopi.
The Prime Minister along with CM Pinarayi Vijayan visited a relief camp to meet and interact with the victims and survivors. Modi met with select inmates and doctors and enquired about the condition of the patients.
Ayyappan, a survivor of the devastating landslides that swept through Mundakkai hamlet in Wayanad, is left with nothing– no home, no family and no future. But a chance meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a relief camp has rekindled a glimmer of hope for the elderly person, who lost nine relatives in the disaster and is now pinning his hopes on securing a new shelter.
“Twelve of us from the camp met the PM. There were children too. There was a person who was translating everything. I just asked for a home. He assured all help,” Ayyappan told reporters.
Ayyappan, said that he explained everything to the Prime Minister. “I told him that nine members of my family were lost. We lost our land, but land is not the issue — I lost my family,” Ayyappan said. “The PM held my shoulders when I narrated my losses,” he said.
Dr Charlie, who was part of the medical team that met the Prime Minister, apprised him about the condition of the camp inmates and the psychological and traumatic issues they face. “He (the PM) inquired about the condition of the inmates, the number of recoveries, the advanced treatment, and the issues faced by the inmates,” Charlie said. The inmates have nightmares over the disaster, he added
Modi’s visit comes at a time when the Kerala government hs sought Rs 2,000 crore in assistance for rehabilitation and relief work in the disaster-stricken region.
In the aerial survey, he saw the origin of the landslide, which is in the origin of Iruvazhinji Puzha (River).
He also observed the worst affected areas of Punchirimattam, Mundakkai and Chooralmala.
Hundreds were gathered on the roadsides along the route taken by the PM’s convoy to Chooralmala to catch a glimpse of him.
At least 226 people died and many remain unaccounted for after landslides hit the region on July 30 in what is seen as one of the biggest natural disasters to have impacted the southern state.
The Congress on Saturday said it is good that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is in Wayanad and hoped that he would “find the time and the inclination” to also visit Manipur “which has been experiencing pain” for more than 15 months now.
“It is good that the non-biological PM is in Wayanad today. It was a devastating tragedy,” Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said in a post in Hindi on X.
“After this, he (Modi) is scheduled to visit Ukraine to stop the war once again. Hopefully he will find the time and the inclination before then to also visit Manipur which has been experiencing so much pain, anguish, and agony for over 15 months now,” Ramesh said.
The Congress has been attacking the prime minister for not visiting violence-hit Manipur despite repeated calls.
