Kerala: Union Minister Suresh Gopi visits landslide-hit Wayanad

Wayanad (Kerala) [India], August 4 (ANI): Union Minister and Thrissur BJP MP Suresh Gopi visited Kerala’s Wayanad district on Sunday to assess the situation caused by the landslides in the region.

The landslides that occurred on July 30 in Chooralmala and Mundakkai of Wayanad have resulted in the loss of 308 lives.

Speaking about the ongoing search and rescue operation in the landslide-hit areas, Gopi said, “The army personnel who led the team leading me to the site to the maximum proximity he is of the opinion that if there are methods to scan and let us know then we will go on the hunt. So means they are not done. Rehabilitation of the mines should be the priority. That is what I am going to put. You cannot close in on the numbers because you know how domestic tourism happens. In each room, police will get a record of four persons in a room but there will be invariably ten-plus people in one room. So how do you get the numbers? One resort was fully taken away,” Gopi told ANI.

Further, speaking on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s visit to Wayanad, Gopi said, “He (Rahul Gandhi) has to come here as he is the MP of this place. This party has been holding the seat for a long time continuously.”

The search and rescue operations in Kerala’s Wayanad have entered its sixth day on Sunday, as several people are still feared trapped in the debris after landslides that occurred in Chooralmala and Mundakkai of Wayanad.

Providing details about the rescue operation, Wayanad District Collector Meghashree told ANI, that the rescue operation is in full swing, and over 1300 forces have been deployed for today’s operation.

“Rescue operation is going on in full swing. Today, 1,300+ forces are deployed…volunteers are also there…yesterday volunteers who went for the rescue operation got stranded there, today we are taking precautions so that it doesn’t happen,” Wayanad District Collector told ANI.

Meanwhile, Kerala Chief Minister’s Office has informed that night patrolling of the police has been instituted in Chooralmala and Mundakkai areas where landslides occurred.

Action will be taken against those trespassing in the houses or areas of the victims at night, the statement from CM’s office said. No one should enter the houses or areas of these places at night without the permission of the police for the purpose of rescue operations, it added.

On Saturday, the Indian Air Force airlifted one ZAWER and four REECO radars from Siachen and Delhi to fasten the search operations in the landslide-affected areas of Wayanad.

On the same day, the Indian Coast Guard (ICG), Indian Army, and Indian Air Force (IAF) successfully rescued three personnel stranded at Soochipara Waterfalls, located in the landslide-hit Wayanad district of Kerala.

On Saturday, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan expressed his gratitude to the Tamil Nadu government for contributing Rs 5 crore towards the relief efforts in landslide-hit Wayanad, which claimed more than 300 lives in the state.

The death toll in the massive landslides that occurred on July 30 in Chooralmala and Mundakkai of Wayanad stands at 308 as of Friday, Kerala Health Minister Veena George said.

As per the latest update, 215 bodies and 143 body parts were recovered, including 98 males, 87 females, and 30 children.

The post-mortem procedures were completed on 212 bodies and 140 body parts, and 148 bodies have been identified by relatives so far.