Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi to visit disaster-stricken Wayanad on August 1
Jul 31, 2024
New Delhi [India], July 31 : Congress top brass Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra are scheduled to visit the disaster-stricken region of Wayanad on Thursday, August 1.
They will be going to meet the families affected by the recent landslide that has so far taken 158 lives in the hilly areas of Meppadi in Wayanad, Kerala. They will also be visiting the relief camps that were set up at the schools and medical institutes in Meppadi.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Wednesday morning held a meeting to review the rescue operations in the Wayanad district, which was hit by landslides on July 30.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will also be reaching Wayanad on August 1 to attend a state-level all-party meeting. On Wednesday morning, he held a review meeting on the rescue operation going on in the district.
Union Minister George Kurian also visited the affected areas this morning to take stock of the situation and met with survivors at relief camps.
Currently, a delegation of nine state ministers is in Wayanad assessing the relief camps.
A total of 1200 rescue workers from the Indian Army, DSC Centre, Territorial Army, NDRF, Indian Navy and IAF are deployed at the calamity-hit areas. Teams of the Army, Air Force and Navy have joined personnel of the NDRF, police force and firefighters in rescue efforts, Kerala Chief Secretary V Venu said.
Navy teams from Ezhimala Naval Base also arrived in Chooralmala this morning. An Army canine unit has also joined in the efforts to sniff out bodies buried under the debris of mud and slush. The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) is also actively engaged in the rescue and relief operations for those affected by the landslide with the support of the ICG Disaster Relief Team of Kochi and Beypore.
Chief Minister Vijayan said that 45 camps have been set up in Wayanad district and over 3000 people have been rehabilitated there.
Meanwhile, based on inputs from the Kerala Government, forest Officials and villagers, a team of the 122 Infantry Battalion (TA) Madras, led by Sub Gijil, Sub Jayesh and Nb Sub Anilkumar, along with 12 Jawans, rescued 19 civilians stranded in ElaResort and VanaRani resort beyond Mundakai village, the Defence PRO for Kerala said.
