Congress leader and former Wayanad MP Rahul Gandhi and his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra visited the landslide-affected area of Chooralmala in Kerela's Wayanad district on Thursday afternoon, August 1.
After reaching the spot amidst the rain, Gandhi and his sister left for the Community Health Centre in Meppadi. From there, the two will then proceed to Dr Moopen's Medical College and two relief camps at Meppadi.
Congress Leaders in Kerala
AICC general secretary and Alappuzha MP K C Venugopal is also accompanying them. Gandhi, who won from the Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency in the 2019 general elections, had again won from here this year. Gandhi and Vadra landed at Kannur airport at 9.30 am and then travelled to Wayanad by road.
The rescue operations in the landslide-hit district resumed on Thursday, as multiple landslides which struck the state on Tuesday claimed the lives of at least 256 people, and more than 200 were missing. According to the report, the Indian Army, NDRF, along with local emergency response departments, continued their massive search and rescue operation to trace people feared to be trapped in the tragedy.
Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Thursday held a high-level meeting to discuss the situation in state. “Rescue operations will continue in the river to search for missing persons. Rescued people are temporarily shifted to camps. Rehabilitation works will be done at the earliest, as we have done in earlier situations too. I request the media to avoid meeting people and shooting inside the camps. You may talk to them outside the camps, it is important to protect the privacy of the individuals…” he said.
"Most important is giving psychological support to the survivors. We have to avoid the spread of the epidemic. Not only human beings, but many animals also died in the calamity. Have to bury them all properly. A committee of four ministers will camp here and coordinate activities. For those who lost certificates, the government will re-issue them,” he said.
Vijayan also conducted took an aerial inspection of the landslide-hit district. He was travelling to Wayanad from Kozhikode. The chief secretary, Dr V Venu, and DGP, Shaik Darvesh Sahib, also accompanied him.