CM Pinarayi Vijayan also announced the setting up of 'Help for Wayanad Cell' to coordinate the rehabilitation offers.
Published Aug 03, 2024 | 3:15 PM ⚊ Updated Aug 03, 2024 | 3:15 PM
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan consoling a survivor
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said on Saturday, 3 August that the government has initiated the process of building a township for the survivors of Wayanad landslides.
As the search and rescue operations continued for the fifth day, the CM said that it was in the final stages and that identifying recovered body parts is turning out to be very difficult. Talking about rehabilitating the landslides’ survivors, he said that the state realised that it should be carried out in a better way.
“We thought that the rehabilitation of those who survived the disaster should be carried out in a better way. This endeavour, which requires a lot of hard work and good planning, needs to be completed expeditiously. A large area of habitation disappeared. So, the government is planning to find a more secure area and build a township there. Necessary discussions have already begun at the administrative level,” said the CM, at a press conference.
Additionally, Pinarayi Vijayan also announced the setting up of ‘Help for Wayanad Cell’ to coordinate the rehabilitation offers. As more and more people volunteer to take care of some or the other kind of expenses of the devastating landslides’ survivors, he stated,
“Apart from the money to CMDRF, various offers are coming from various quarters. These offers of building a house, providing space and so on are a perfect example of how compassionately the world sees the tragedy of our brothers and sisters. Some of these offers of assistance have already been made as press releases. Some others are being said at the press conference now. To coordinate these efforts, a cell under Joint Land Revenue Commissioner A Geetha IAS will come into being.”
As rescue operations in the landslide-hit areas of this north Kerala district entered fifth day, rescuers unearthed more bodies and body parts, taking the death toll to 215, with around 206 people still reported missing. The Kerala government has requested the deployment of advanced radar equipment, including one Xaver radar and four Reeco radars, which will be airlifted from Delhi in an Indian Air Force (IAF) aircraft, along with their operators.
(Edited by Neena with inputs from Dileep V Kumar)
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