This disaster is not normal: PM after spot visit to landside-hit Wayanad
NEW DELHI, AUG 10 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday visited the Chooralmala area in Wayanad district, Kerala, where a deadly landslide occurred, killing over 400 people and injuring many others. The Prime Minister conducted an aerial survey and visited relief camps housing survivors and those receiving treatment at a hospital.
After the inspection, PM Modi said that the “disaster is not normal” and offered all possible assistance for rehabilitation and rebuilding the region.
“I have been taking information about the landslide since the time I got to know about the incident. All the agencies of the Central government who could have helped in the disaster were mobilised immediately. This disaster is not normal. The dreams of thousands of families have been shattered. I have seen the situation on the spot. I met the victims at relief camps who faced this disaster. I also met the injured patients in the hospital,” PM Modi said.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Governor Arif Muhammed Khan, and Union Minister Suresh Gopi accompanied PM Modi, briefing him on the magnitude of the disaster, which occurred early in the morning on July 30.
The Prime Minister trekked through Chooralmala, inspecting areas around the Vellarmala Government Vocational Higher Secondary School, which was reduced to rubble in the landslide.
He also walked across the 190-foot-long Bailey bridge, built by the army after the disaster, and interacted with Army personnel.
Later, he visited a relief camp at a school in Meppadi, where he spent nearly half an hour. He interacted with some of the survivors, including two children who lost all their family members in the landslide.
The survivors narrated their ordeal to the Prime Minister, breaking into tears during the conversation, while he tried to console them.
After visiting Chooralmala, Prime Minister Modi also visited a private hospital in Meppadi, where he interacted with injured survivors undergoing treatment.
Before the ground survey, his aerial inspection covered the landslide’s origin and the worst-affected areas of Punchirimattam, Mundakkai, and Chooralmala.
Ezee Black Garbage Bags for Dustbin | 90 Pcs | Medium 19 X 21 Inches | 30 Pcs x Pack of 3Three massive back-to-back landslides hit the Meppadi area on July 30, burying houses and establishments, killing scores. The state expects the central government to categorise the landslide as Level 3 of the National Disaster Management Plan, which would provide more central assistance for rebuilding the area and rehabilitating the survivors.
-PTI
