Image source: Kerala Government
By Shankar Raj*
Thiruvananthapuram: A demand to declare the Wayanad mishap a national tragedy tops the list of demands that the Kerala government has prepared to be handed over to Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit to the state on Saturday, August 10, 2024.
The Prime Minister is scheduled to visit Chooralmala, Meppadi and other areas hit by the July 30 massive landslides in the Wayanad region of the state and the list including the demand to declare the mishap as a national tragedy will then be handed over to him.
However, Modi’s visit to the state is subject to the day’s weather conditions, sources said. The weather in the region is known to change swiftly, especially during the monsoon season and the visibility can dip at times.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will land in Kannur and then take a chopper to the affected areas. He is expected to hold a series of meetings with the Kerala Government, rescue teams and those closely connected with the rehabilitation efforts of the survivors.
The toll in the landslides touched 417 yesterday even as rescue operations continued. On Day 8 of the mishap, more body parts were recovered, some from far-off places in Malappuram district in the Chaliyar river. The body parts were buried after taking DNA samples and tagging the graves.
Over 200 people are still missing. The government has now published the first list of those dead and that includes many children. Over 2000 people are still in relief camps and it would take a few days, if not a few weeks, to rehabilitate them.
Meanwhile, the state government has appealed to the employees of public sector undertakings and teachers to donate a minimum of five days of salary to the Chief Minister’s Distress Relief Fund (CMDRF).
It may be recalled that while addressing a press conference on August 7, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had said the government was hopeful as the employees’ organisations, after his discussions with their representatives, reached an understanding to donate a minimum of five days’ salary to CMDRF.
He was, however, careful in not using the word ‘mandatory’, which had antagonised a large section of government servants the last time the government demanded a donation.
The Chief Minister rejected all allegations of misuse of funds and pointed out that the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) had audited the CMDRF and came out with a report that there were no irregularities.
Referring to the ongoing campaigns that the CMDRF doesn’t operate in a transparent manner, Pinarayi said circulating such fake campaigns, especially when the state is dealing with a devastating disaster, is highly condemnable.
*Shankar Raj is a former editor of The New Indian Express, Karnataka and Kerala, and writes regularly on current affairs.
