Wayanad landslide: Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi visit affected areas as death toll reaches 173

Wayanad landslide: Leader of Opposition of Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, and his sister Priyanka Gandhi visited the landslide-affected area of Chooralmala here on Thursday afternoon. Gandhi is the MP from Wayanad that has been devastated by landslides. 

The Congress leaders reached the spot, and then left for the Community Health Centre in Meppadi, said party sources. They are scheduled to go to Dr Moopen's Medical College and two relief camps at Meppadi.

Massive landslides triggered by torrential rains hit Mundakkai, Chooralmala, Attamala, and Noolpuzha hamlets in the early hours of Tuesday. So far 173 people have reportedly been killed, including women and children.                         

Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi were accompanied by AICC general secretary and Alappuzha MP K C Venugopal.  

Gandhi and Vadra landed at Kannur airport at 9.30 am and then travelled to Wayanad by road.

Gandhi had won the Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency in the 2019 general elections, as well as this year’s. However, he had also won from the Raebareli Lok Sabha seat in Uttar Pradesh, and gave up the Wayanad seat. Priyanka Gandhi is expected to contest from the seat when the by-election is held here.

Meanwhile, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said on Thursday that the rescue mission in the landslide-hit Mundakkai region may take a few more days. He appointed a cabinet sub-committee of four ministers to coordinate the rescue efforts. The ministers will camp in Wayanad. 

He stated that the Army representatives informed him that all those who could be rescued from the debris have been saved. The Chief Minister mentioned that many people are still missing, and numerous bodies have been recovered from the region, including the Chaliyar River. He noted that the rescue mission is ongoing and not something that can be resolved quickly. Twelve ministers are currently in Wayanad, and now four ministers will remain to coordinate the operations. 

Vijayan explained that initially, the massive accumulation of soil made rescue operations difficult, but the construction of a Bailey Bridge by the Army will ease the mission. When asked about the rehabilitation of survivors, Vijayan assured that the victims would be taken care of, as they have been in past incidents. He urged the media to respect the privacy of families in relief camps and to conduct interviews outside the camps. After the press meet, Vijayan received donations for the Chief Minister's Disaster Relief Fund (CMDRF) and is scheduled to visit the disaster-hit areas soon.