Kerala is hopeful of Prime Minister's visit to landslide-hit areas of Wayanad. The state government has sought financial assistance from the Centre for rehabilitation of affected people.
Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Thursday (Aug 8) said that the state government has asked the Union government to declare the Mundakkai-Chooralmala landslide disaster in Wayanad as a national disaster. Speaking at a press conference, the CM said that the Union Home Ministry has appointed a nine-member expert committee to assess the severity of the disaster.
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"Rehabilitation is necessary in Wayanad, and central assistance is expected for this. The Prime Minister's visit is expected to bring forth steps in favour of the state. Kerala has sent a detailed letter to the Prime Minister," CM Vijayan said.
1942 people are in camps due to the Wayanad landslide disaster. 225 deaths have been officially confirmed so far. Fragmented parts of 195 bodies have been found. The exact number will be known once the DNA test results are available. So far, funeral was held for 233 bodies. As of today, 641 families, including children, are living in 14 camps in Meppadi.
91 government quarters have been arranged for the temporary rehabilitation of the affected people. A search operation, involving the public and security personnel, will take place in the disaster-affected area on Friday (Aug 9). The disaster area will be divided into six parts for the search. This is the last attempt to find alive individuals, if any.
A section of the army has pulled out of disaster-hit areas after 10 days of operations. The army made a crucial intervention after the devastating flood and the construction Bailey bridge was crucial to the search and rescue operations.
Old clothes
The Chief Minister said that 7 tons of old clothes came at the collection center, which had to be disposed of, and caused inconvenience.
More contributions to CMDRF
The CM said that more donations came in the distress relief fund. He specially hailed the South Indian film industry for providing significant support. “Prabhas donated Rs 2 crore, Chiranjeevi and his son Ram Charan donated Rs 1 crore each. AK Antony donated Rs 50,000, Governor Arif Muhammad Khan donated Rs 50,000 and VD Satheesan donated Rs 1 lakh,” Pinarayi Vijayan said.
The Chief Minister expressed deep sorrow over the demise of Buddhadeb Bhattacharya, calling it a personal loss.
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