Kerala BJP chief K Surendran thanks PM Modi for visiting landslide-hit Wayanad

Wayanad (Kerala) [India], August 10 (ANI): Kerala BJP president K Surendran thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for visiting landslide-hit regions in Wayanad on Saturday and dubbed the visit as “promising and hopeful.”

Surendran said that the Prime Minister has promised all assistance to the state and added that the central and state governments will work together on this.

“On behalf of all Keralites, my sincere gratitude. Thanks to PM Narendra Modi. It was a very promising, hopeful and fruitful visit to Wayanad by him. He met the victims and visited the place where the incident took place. He attended a meeting with the state government and promised he would take care of everything. The central government and the state government will work together for construction and all the other things. The funds won’t be an issue,” Surendran said while speaking to ANI on Saturday.

As he visited and inspected landslide-hit sites on Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the tragedy that claimed over 300 lives in Kerala’s Wayanad was not ordinary.

The Prime Minister conducted aerial as well as on-the-ground surveys taking stock of the situation while the rescue operations were still underway. He said that the central government is standing alongside the state government for all assistance and relief work.

On the Prime Minister’s visit, Wayanad District Collector Meghashree DR said, “He visited the landslide-affected area, the camp and the hospital. He interacted with various people in the camps and the hospital. After that, we had a small briefing and a presentation for him. We showed him before and after videos. He appreciated the efforts taken by the state government.”

“He was very keen on the landslide-affected area also. He was listening to us and was asking questions. He wanted to know more about how the incident happened, what was our response and how we got to know about it. He also explained to us about his experience in disaster management earlier,” the District Collector said while speaking to ANI.

Director at St Thomas Hospital in Malakkara, Dr Charlie Cherian said that the medical team briefed about the condition of the survivors to the Prime Minister.

“He came to the medical team and asked what the main concerns of these victims were. We told him that most of them were having nightmares, they could not sleep. Physical injuries can be treated but the other one is that they need to be psychological support. He asked whether any psychologists were there. We told him that we have a psychiatrist and a psychologist because we came as a team of seven. He went and met the victims in three rooms,” Dr Charlie Cherian said.

The Prime Minister also met those who were injured and interacted with those housed at relief camps. During the review meeting, PM Modi reassured that the Central Government and the country are with the disaster-affected victims in this hour of grief.

According to a CMO release, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has requested financial support for the rehabilitation of those who lost everything in the Wayanad landslide, as well as assistance to address the challenges posed by climate change. The Chief Minister gave a memorandum to the Prime Minister on Saturday during his visit to the disaster-affected region in Wayanad. CM Vijayan briefed PM Modi regarding the scale of the disaster and handed over a detailed note to the Prime Minister.

The Chief Minister expressed gratitude for the Prime Minister’s visit to Wayanad and requested that he instruct the relevant Central Government departments to cooperate with the state government in assessing the extent of the disaster. Adequate financial support is essential for the state’s rapid reconstruction efforts and long-term climate change mitigation initiatives.

Over 300 people lost their lives after massive landslides hit Chooralmala and Mundakkai of Wayanad on July 30 following incessant rainfall.