Image source: Kerala Government's official website.
By Shankar Raj*
Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala Government has launched a special scheme for children who lost their parents and families in the July 30, 2024, landslides in Chooralmala and Meppadi in Wayanad, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said today.
According to him the focus of the scheme would be on addressing the mental trauma of the tragedy and the loss of their families and friends in Wayanad landslides. As part of the scheme, trained personnel would address the issue of trauma while restoring classes in schools nearby.
Two schools — VVHSS Vellarmala and GLPS Mundakkai — were completely damaged in the landslides. Measures are on to reconstruct the schools in the township project announced by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
General Education Minister V Sivankutty Tuesday said that classes will soon commence in the schools in landslides-hit Wayanad which are being used as relief camps now and financial assistance will be provided to workers affected by the disaster.
The media secretary to the minister Rajeevan told local media that nearly 53 children have either died or are missing. The rest, over 600-odd students, are presently staying in camps. These children have been provided counselling.
Meanwhile, women from nearby areas have come forward to breast-feed kids who lost their mothers.
On the ground, the search operations in Chooralmala and Mundakkai villages are in the final phase and the rehabilitation of those affected by the catastrophic landslides is the major challenge ahead for the authorities.
Currently, 889 people — from 274 families — who were rescued or evacuated from the disaster-stricken areas are housed in eight relief camps in Meppadi.
Though the state government has announced plans to establish a township in a secure area for those affected, identifying suitable land for the purpose could well prove to be a daunting task.
Today, more unidentified bodies and body parts are buried at the mass burial site in Puthumala following prayers of all religions. As many as 30 unclaimed bodies and 154 body parts were buried. Each body and body part was buried in separate pits, with DNA identification numbers marked on top of the graves.
*Shankar Raj is a former editor of The New Indian Express, Karnataka and Kerala, and writes regularly on current affairs.
