Rahul Gandhi Hopes for PM Modi’s Response to Wayanad Landslides
After a ruinous landslide struck Wayanad, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi came out in the open and appreciated Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the affected areas. He said that he really hopes Modi will assess the situation at ground level and treat it as a national disaster.
PM Modi’s Proposed Visit to Wayanad
Modi is likely to visit Wayanad on Saturday, August 10, to survey the relief and rehabilitation operations taken up by the State machinery in the wake of the devastating landslides that hit the district on July 30. This visit may include on-the-spot assessment of damages and conferring with local rescue teams engaged in evacuation and recovery operations.
In the schedule, he is due to visit the spots where landslides occurred, where the rescue teams will brief him about ongoing operations. He will further visit the relief camps and hospitals to meet and interact with the victims to express solidarity with the calamity’s victims.
Statement of Rahul Gandhi
Ahead of PM’s visit, Rahul Gandhi took to the social media platform tweet to share his thoughts. He also thanked Modi for the initiative to visit Wayanad and expressed confidence that the PM would be declaring the situation a national disaster after seeing the devastation at close quarters. He thus tweeted, “Thank you, Modi ji, for coming to Wayanad to see the terrible tragedy with your own eyes. This is a good decision. I am confident that once the Prime Minister has seen with his own eyes the extent of devastation, he will declare it a national disaster.”
The very comments of Gandini help to focus on government intervention and support in the face of natural calamities, most especially in a region largely hit by environmental challenges.
The Extent of the Damage
The landslides in Wayanad, mainly at Chooralmala and Mundakkai, have turned out to be devastating, displacing families and demolishing houses. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has gone on record saying that the Kerala state government declared the event a national calamity to get central assistance and save large-scale funds from the Centre in the form of financial and logistical aid for the operations ahead.
They have been ascribed to heavy rainfall, quite expected during monsoon season in Kerala. The seriousness of these events has been sufficient to raise a dire appeal for steps that would restore a sense of normalcy through the provision of adequate relief that would deal with both immediate relief needs and long-term improvements in infrastructure to mitigate risks from future disasters.
Kerala State Government’s Response
The state government of Kerala is also contributing to meet the crisis with immediate responses for the benefit of the victims. According to an official press release from the Chief Minister’s Office, the assistance will go to individuals and families whose houses have been destroyed by land subsidence in the Mundakkai and Chooralmala areas.
In the relief process, one member of a family where livelihood has been lost will receive an allowance of Rs 300 per day. Up to a maximum of two persons in a family and to three in case of bedridden or long-term hospitalized patients will be provided the facility. In order to ensure such people receive sufficient aid, this provision should be in place.
Significance of National Disaster Declaration
Declaring these landslides as a national disaster would help to open up more resources from the central government to spur technical support that will foster more comprehensive recovery processes and rehabilitation measures. This would include funding for the development of infrastructure and construction of durable housing, or the sheltering of areas vulnerable to landslides.
The urgency of the situation and emphasis by Gandhi on this declaration portray the feeling that the states and central governments need to work as a team in finding the most appropriate way forward on how best to deal with the needs of the affected communities at the grassroots level. National disaster status would also bring forth a need to make people aware of the importance of disaster preparedness and climate resilience, as a place like Wayanad continues to face environmental challenges.
Looking Ahead
With the Prime Minister visiting the region, a sense of hope has developed among the people in Wayanad that the federal and state governments will jointly reach out with timely and efficient aid to address people’s needs in the affected regions. Among these efforts, coordination and cooperation between layers of government play their cardinal role in the recovery efforts carried out properly and funded adequately.
Gandhi’s acceptability to receive Modi’s visit makes one understand the role of political leadership during crisis times. He stresses there should be a political will in responding to humanitarian needs and making sure that those struck by natural calamities are considered to have their proper needs meant.
Summary
The recent landslides witnessed in Wayanad have brought into the light the suffering of various communities in the Kerala state during the monsoon season. With the proposed visit of PM Modi, there’s a possibility that this tragedy will have a more robust response. While Rahul Gandhi’s assertion that this tragedy must be declared a national disaster is more of an expression of the scale of the disaster, it portends that something concrete will have to be done as far as effective intervention and support to the tragedy’s victims are concerned. But the state and central government now have to find a way how to cooperate in a situation that will remain critical to take the most vulnerable of these towns, including Wayanad, back to recovery and long-term resilience.
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