10 August,2024 01:28 PM IST | Wayanad | mid-day online correspondent
PM Modi conducted an aerial survey
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday carried out an aerial survey of disaster-hit areas of this north Kerala district where landslides claimed hundreds of lives.
PM Modi conducted an aerial survey of the landslide-ravaged Chooralmala, Mundakkai, and Punchirimattom hamlets aboard an Indian Air Force helicopter, on which he departed to Wayanad from Kannur Airport around 11.15 am, reported PTI.
PM Modi was accompanied by Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Union Minister of State for Tourism and Petroleum and Natural Gas Suresh Gopi.
After the aerial survey, he will land at the SKMJ Higher Secondary School in Kalpetta from where PM Modi will proceed to certain Kerala landslides-hit areas by road, reported PTI.
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During the survey, PM Modi saw the origin of the landslide, the Iruvazhinji Puzha (River).
He also observed the worst affected areas of Punchirimattam, Mundakkai and Chooralmala.
Following the aerial survey, the Prime Minister will visit on-the-ground locations impacted by the disaster and receive a briefing from rescue teams regarding the evacuation operations currently underway.
PM Modi is also expected to oversee the rehabilitation efforts in the area to ensure effective support for those affected.
The Prime Minister will also visit the relief camp and hospital, where he will meet and interact with the victims and survivors of the landslide.
Following his site visits, the Prime Minister will chair a review meeting where he will be briefed in detail about the incident and the ongoing relief efforts.
His visit comes at a time when the Kerala government has sought Rs 2,000 crore in assistance for rehabilitation and relief work in the disaster-stricken region.
At least 226 people died and many remain unaccounted for after Kerala landslides hit the region on July 30 in what is seen as one of the biggest natural disasters to have impacted the southern state.
In a press conference in Thiruvananthapuram, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that the state has requested the central government to declare this as a national disaster and a severe calamity.
Kerala state government has assured immediate assistance to those affected by the landslide in Mundakkai and Chooralmala areas of Wayanad district, helping them relocate to another place, according to an official press release from the Chief Minister's Office.
(With inputs from PTI and ANI)
