New Delhi: On Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi flew over Wayanad in Kerala, where landslides that claimed hundreds of lives have left a path of destruction in their wake.
The Prime Minister flew in an IAF helicopter to conduct an aerial survey of Chooralmala, Mundakkai, and Punchirimattom, the villages most affected by landslides.
The Iruvazhinji Puzha River, the source of the destructive landslides, was also shown to him.
PM Modi accompanied Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, and Union Minister of State for Tourism, Petroleum and Natural Gas Suresh Gopi.
After the aerial survey, PM Modi is set to undertake an on-ground inspection of the affected areas.
Additionally, PM Modi is scheduled to assess the relief operations being conducted by several disaster management teams. In addition to meeting the victims and their relatives in hospitals and relief camps, he will likely get an update from rescue crews on the current evacuation process.
After arriving at Kannaur earlier in the day, Prime Minister Modi boarded an Indian Air Force (IAF) helicopter to travel to the Wayanad district of Kerala.
One day before the prime minister’s visit, the Kerala government requested Rs 2,000 crore in financial help for rehabilitation and relief efforts in the region affected by the landslide.
Before PM Modi’s visit to the area, Rahul Gandhi, the sitting Member of Parliament from the Wayanad constituency, also shared a post.
“Thank you, Modi ji, for visiting Wayanad to take stock of the tragedy. This is a good decision. I am confident that once the Prime Minister sees the extent of the devastation firsthand, he will declare it a national disaster,” Rahul wrote on X.
Following the devastating landslides that struck the area on July 30, more than 200 people have died, and hundreds have been evacuated.
Following the unprecedented devastation caused by landslides, the Kerala government and Congress leaders asked the Centre to declare it a ‘national disaster’. The declaration would open the channels for releasing additional funds for relief and rehabilitation works.
–IANS
