PM Modi in Kerala: Visits landslide-hit areas of Chooralmala and Meppadi in Wayanad, says this disaster is not normal

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday visited the Chooralmala area in Wayanad district of Kerala, where there was a deadly landslidekilling over 400 people and injuring many more. The Prime Minister conducted aerial surveys and visited relief camps where survivors and those being treated in hospital were staying.

After inspecting the area, Prime Minister Modi said that “disaster is not normal” and offered all possible assistance for the reconstruction and rehabilitation of the region.

“I have been gathering information about the landslide ever since I came to know about the incident. All the central government agencies that could help in the disaster were immediately mobilised. This disaster is not normal. The dreams of thousands of families have been shattered. I have seen the situation on the ground. I have met the victims in the relief camps who were facing this disaster. I have also met the injured patients in the hospital,” PM Modi said.

Prime Minister Modi was accompanied by Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Governor Arif Muhammed Khan and Chief Minister Suresh Gopi, who briefed him on the scale of the disasterwhich took place in the early morning hours of July 30.

The Prime Minister traversed Chooralmala, inspecting the area around the Vellarmala Government Vocational Higher Secondary School, which was reduced to rubble in a landslide.

He also crossed the 190-foot bridge Bailey bridge built by the military after the disaster and made contact with army personnel.

He later visited a relief camp at a school in Meppadi, where he spent almost half an hour. He spoke to several survivors, including two children who lost all their family members in the landslide.

The survivors told the prime minister about their experiences, bursting into tears during the conversation as the prime minister tried to comfort them.

After visiting Chooralmala, Prime Minister Modi also visited a private hospital in Meppadi, where he interacted with the injured who were undergoing treatment.

Before testing the soil, the aerial inspection covered the site of the landslide and the worst affected areas are Punchirimattam, Mundakkai and Chooralmala.

Prime Minister Modi also held a review meeting at the Wayanad Collectorate building.

Three huge landslides hit Meppadi area on July 30, burying homes and businesses and killing dozens of people. The state expects the central government to classify the landslide as Level 3 of its National Disaster Management Plan, which would ensure more central assistance in rebuilding the area and rehabilitating survivors.