Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the tragic landslides in Wayanad should be declared a national disaster. Addressing the passing-out parade at Kerala Police Academy in Thrissur, the CM appreciated the rescue efforts being conducted by police and other forces in Wayanad.
“What happened in Wayanad was a significant disaster at the national level. The efforts of the police, who participated in the rescue mission there are commendable,” he said and added that the police personnel risked their own lives to save others.
Earlier Congress leader Rahul Gandhi also demanded to declare it as a national disaster. However, senior BJP leader and former union minister V Muraleedharan rejected such a demand and said there is no such provision. He quoted a 2013 Parliament document in which Minister of State for Home Mullapally Ramachandran stated that `there is no provision to declare a natural disaster as a national disaster’.
Search efforts in Wayanad’s Mundakkai and Chooralmala continue on Day 6. The count of bodies recovered from the landslides-hit areas touches 219 with 206 persons still missing. Over 1,300 rescuers, heavy machinery, and advanced equipment are said to have been deployed to find survivors or the remains of those deceased.
The state Tourism Minister P A Mohamed Riyas has said that more force and equipment are being deployed in spots where chances of recovering bodies were high.
Meanwhile at a review meeting on Saturday, Chief Minister Vijayan said the government is planning a township for the survivors “to ensure exemplary rehabilitation for those left homeless in the tragedy”. Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah has also said that his government, in solidarity with the neighbouring state will construct 100 homes for the victims of the landslides.
Suresh Gopi, Minister of State for Tourism, and Petroleum and Gas visited the landslide-hit places in Wayanad on Sunday and reviewed rescue efforts. The minister visited Mundakkai and Chooralmala, the worst affected places due to the landslide and said the impact of the landslide has to be studied.
Gopi said “rehabilitation of minds” has to be prioritised and counselling must be arranged for those affected to overcome the trauma of the disaster. The union minister discussed with Army personnel about rescue efforts being carried out in the region.
