West Bengal Governor CV Anand Bose said on Wednesday that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is fully committed to providing all necessary support for the rescue and relief operations in the Wayanad tragedy. "I had an opportunity to visit the relief camps and talk in detail to the victims who are staying there...this is one of the worst calamities that happened recently...I spoke to the CM of Kerala and brought the issues to the notice of the PM and Defence Minister. PM is fully committed to doing whatever is required for the rescue and relief operations...we are with the victims," Bose told ANI.
West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose, currently in Wayanad, visited the Government Higher Secondary School where postmortems of the landslide victims will take place. He also visited the Meppady Community Hall, now serving as a temporary mortuary. As per the Kerala Revenue Department, the death toll in Wayanad landslides has risen to 158.Meanwhile, Search and rescue operations continue at landslide-affected Chooralmala in Wayanad. At the moment, 1200 rescue workers from the Indian Army, DSC centre, Territorial Army, NDRF, Indian Navy and the IAF are deployed here.
The Commandant of the Para Regimental Training Centre, Brigadier Arjun Seagan, said that 500 to 600 personnel from the NDRF, army, state police, forest officials, and volunteers have been carrying out the rescue operations on Wednesday. Earlier today, the Indian Army ramped up its rescue operations and successfully evacuated more than 1,000 people from affected areas to safety. The Army's Southern Command said that up to 1,000 personnel have been rescued so far using man-made bridges and human effort. Despite adverse climatic conditions and poor visibility, Indian Air Force Helicopters also conducted search & rescue operations in Wayanad rescuing stranded people from a narrow strip of land.
At least two massive landslides struck Kerala's Wayanad on Tuesday morning, causing widespread destruction. The first occurred in Mundakkai, a town, and the second in Chooralmala. The massive landslides wreaked havoc in the region, damaging houses and roads, uprooting trees, and swelling water bodies, which hindered rescue operations. Relief and rescue efforts are currently underway. The first landslide occurred at 2 am on July 30, followed by another at 4:10 am, causing immense damage to homes and livelihoods. Many areas, including Meppadi, Mundakkai and Chooralmala, have been isolated, and roads have been washed away. The Vellarmala GVH School was completely buried.