Kozhikode/Malappuram: “This is a tragedy and the rest of the nation must help Kerala,” said Congress leader and Wayanad MP Rahul Gandhi after visiting his flood-hit constituency yesterday.
He said that he had spoken to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, the District Collector of Wayanad and Congress workers in the State regarding the flood situation in Wayanad.
Rahul visited M E S Mampad College Relief camp and met flood-affected victims and also Nilambur. He held a review meeting with officials in Malappuram district collectorate. Leader of the opposition in the State Assembly Ramesh Chennithala and IUML leader and Lok Sabha MP P K Kunhalikkutty also attended the meeting. Rahul urged the Centre and State government to provide immediate help for the people affected in the floods. He tweeted, “It is heart-breaking to see what all the people of Wayanad have lost. We will do everything in our power to help them get back on their feet.”
Speaking about the relief work being carried out he said, the operation was going OK and that those who were confined in camps were asking for assistance like medicines.
The Congress leader also visited the worst-affected village at Nilambur in Malappuram district. Speaking about it, he said, “I visited Kavalapara, the site of the landslide in Bhoothanam. Several people are still trapped and rescue operations are underway, but more help is required immediately.”
The landslide that occurred in Kavalappara village had reportedly wiped out several houses and more than 60 people are feared buried alive in it. Rahul also visited a relief camp opened at a church in Pothukal near Kavalappara and interacted with those displaced by floods and landslides.
After this he visited a relief camp at Mampad and later reached the Malappuram Guest House, where he held the review meeting.
“For the next few days I will be based in my Lok Sabha constituency, #Wayanad that has been ravaged by floods. I will be visiting relief camps across Wayanad and reviewing relief measures with District & State officials,” he tweeted.