New Delhi, Aug 7 (UNI) Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday described the Wayanad landslides’ in Kerala as a ‘huge tragedy’ and urged the Central Government to declare it a ‘national disaster’ and also support a comprehensive rehabilitation package for the district.
Speaking during the Zero Hour, Gandhi also urged the Centre to enhance the compensation to the affected families.
“I visited Wayanad with my sister some days back and I saw with my own eyes the devastation, the pain and suffering that resulted from this tragedy. Almost two kms of the hill had just collapsed and almost a river of stones, river of muck had come down and more than 200 are dead and a vast number are missing. The eventual casualty is going to be 400 plus is what it seems,” he said.
“I would also like to urge the Union Government to enhance the compensation the people are getting and finally I would like to urge the government to declare the Wayanad landslides as a national disaster,” the LoP said.
The Raebareli MP said, “The Wayanad landslide is a very concentrated tragedy located in one specific area, so I would urge the Union government to support a comprehensive rehabilitation package for Wayanad including for building a disaster resilient infrastructure and to help the affected communities”.
He said the devastated landslides had cut several vital routes hampering the rescue teams to reach the far flung areas.
Rahul also thanked the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), Army, Indian Navy and the Indian Coast Guard for the relief and rescue operations and also the states of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Telangana for their assistance.
He also thanked the entire House for the support extended to the people of Wayanad.
