Close X
Thursday, November 28, 2024
ADVT 
India

Wayanad landslides toll reaches 120, 98 missing, rescue operations continue

Darpan News Desk IANS, 30 Jul, 2024 03:18 PM
  • Wayanad landslides toll reaches 120, 98 missing, rescue operations continue

Kozhikode, July 30 (IANS) Kerala experienced its "worst-ever" natural disaster in the hilly Wayanad district early on Tuesday as a series of devastating landslides, amid heavy rain, left at least 120 people dead, 98 others reported missing while around 160 people were being treated in a few hospitals in the affected district even as rescue operations continue to locate the missing and evacuate those marooned, officials said.

The worst-affected areas include Churalpara, Velarimala, Mundakayil and Pothukalu and the locals from these areas who managed to escape are deeply shattered as hundreds of homes have been totally destroyed.

Tragic stories are coming out in large numbers from people who have lost their near and dear ones. A man broke out in tears as he said after the landslide occurred, he could only watch helplessly as his mother and his sister were washed away as he clung to a window for safety.

A woman said: "I have no idea of my sister and three children of hers. Till last night we were all together and now I have no clue where they are."

"There are hundreds of people living at Mundakayil where I have been living for the past 24 years and I am deeply saddened as in this hospital, there is no one from my area where I live," said a deeply upset Kunjumohammed, lamenting that he has lost his house and so has his daughter

"I hail from the Pothukalu area and this is going to be the worst-ever tragedy that Wayanad has witnessed. None has a clue of the number of lives that will be lost as the entire place looks ravaged by the landslide,” said a local who was in tears as he searched for his immediate family members at the hospital.

"It’s a tragedy which one cannot ever think about. Just imagine these people, including children, went to sleep last night and the tragedy struck. Many were swept away by nature’s fury. In Malappuram district, 16 bodies were found floating in the Chaliyar river. Dismembered body parts have also been taken out from the river. A team led by a Lt Colonel has helped people trapped in the Mundakayil market area were rescued using a ropeway which the Army set up," Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said.

"The first landslide occurred at 2 a.m. and then at 4.10 a.m. The road connecting Mundakayil to Churalpara has been washed away. The river which was flowing in the affected area has branched out and it now flows in two directions," he added.

The Chief Minister said that he had received calls from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K.Stalin, and West Bengal Governor C.V. Ananda Bose, and all pledged their full support for the state. Stalin has deployed a team from the state, led by two IAS officers, comprising disaster relief personnel and medical staff, to help in the rescue operations.

Vijayan said after hearing of the tragedy, contributions to the Chief Minister's Distress Relief Fund have started to pour in.

After addressing the media in the evening, the Chief Minister issued an advisory asking people not to travel to the disaster site as it will become difficult for the rescue team to go forward in their work. He also has informed that those who wish to come to help the suffering should get in touch with the district authorities who are coordinating the relief operations and depending on their request help should be provided. In the affected areas, 45 relief camps have been opened and there are over 3,600 people in these camps.

Of the 120 dead, only 48 bodies have been identified, leaving distraught relatives who have lost their near and dear ones running to various places trying to locate the missing people.

Even though Chief Minister Vijayan expressed doubts that the rescue operations can continue after dusk, the rescue teams comprising all three defence forces, the NDRF, police, fire force and a large number of volunteers are continuing their rescue operations trying to bring out people holed up at marooned places.

Leader of Opposition V.D. Satheesan, who reached the affected area, requested Vijayan to ensure that the government issue a directive to avoid post-mortem of the deceased so as to avoid more pain to the survivors.

Meanwhile, five cabinet ministers of the Vijayan government are in Wayanad overseeing the rescue and relief operations, while the state government has declared two days of mourning.

Prime Minister Modi has deputed Union Minister of State for Fisheries George Kurian to Wayanad to coordinate the rescue operations.

The matter was discussed in the Lok Sabha during the ongoing Budget session and Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, who was earlier the MP from Wayanad, called for a swift rescue operation and also demanded enhanced compensation for the victims. He also demanded that the mapping of landslide-prone areas in many areas of Wayanad and Western Ghats be done and an action plan be readied by the Centre to address "growing frequency of natural calamities in the fragile region".

Photo courtesy of X (Nyobi Morris-@mnyomb1)

MORE India ARTICLES

Liquor valued at Rs 42 lakh seized at Goa border

Liquor valued at Rs 42 lakh seized at Goa border
Goa Excise officials on Wednesday seized 720 boxes of liquor valued at Rs 42 lakh at Goa-Maharashtra border, allegedly being transported to Maharashtra. Excise Inspector Rajesh Naik, told IANS, that the seizure was done at Patradevi check post in the north district of the coastal state.  

Liquor valued at Rs 42 lakh seized at Goa border

Child trafficking gang busted in Delhi, two infants rescued

Child trafficking gang busted in Delhi, two infants rescued
Two infants were rescued and four members, including a married couple, of a child trafficking gang were arrested, a Delhi Police official said on Wednesday. The gang, after luring poor families, used to take away their children and sell them to others, police said. The accused were identified as Gurmeet Singh, 41, his wife Hasmeet Kaur, 37, Mariyam, 30, and Naina, 24, all residents of Delhi.

Child trafficking gang busted in Delhi, two infants rescued

A phone call from PM Modi at 2.30 AM: Social worker recalls morale-boosting experience during Covid

A phone call from PM Modi at 2.30 AM: Social worker recalls morale-boosting experience during Covid
Jitender Singh Shunty, a former legislator and social worker on Wednesday recalled a morale-booster phone call from Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the Covid-19 pandemic and revealed how the ‘words of appreciation’ motivated him to do more social service. Modi Story, a popular X handle, shared the moving story of the social worker who received a phone call from PM Modi at 2.30 AM for his selfless work during the pandemic.

A phone call from PM Modi at 2.30 AM: Social worker recalls morale-boosting experience during Covid

'Time used for purposes other than legal interviews': Delhi court dismisses CM Kejriwal's plea seeking more time with lawyer

'Time used for purposes other than legal interviews': Delhi court dismisses CM Kejriwal's plea seeking more time with lawyer
Special Judge Kaveri Baweja of Rouse Avenue Court held that Kejriwal is not even utilising the permitted two legal interviews per week with his counsel solely for discussing his pending litigations and has rather used the allotted time for purposes other than legal interviews. She dismissed the plea, observing that Kejriwal failed to satisfy this court that he has been using the two permitted legal meetings per week solely for the purpose of discussing the pending litigation with his counsel.

'Time used for purposes other than legal interviews': Delhi court dismisses CM Kejriwal's plea seeking more time with lawyer

Akali Dal chief seeks judicial probe into Punjab liquor scam too

Akali Dal chief seeks judicial probe into Punjab liquor scam too
President Sukhbir Badal on Wednesday demanded a judicial probe into the Punjab "liquor scam" as well as the misuse of state resources to fund the Aam Aadmi Party’s election campaign in various states. His demand came following the Delhi High Court rejecting Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s petition challenging his arrest by the ED.

Akali Dal chief seeks judicial probe into Punjab liquor scam too

Will announce Ludhiana, Jalandhar candidates on April 16: Punjab CM

Will announce Ludhiana, Jalandhar candidates on April 16: Punjab CM
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) will announce its Lok Sabha candidates for Ludhiana and Jalandhar on April 16, AAP Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said on Wednesday. The AAP has already announced nine Lok Sabha candidates in Punjab.

Will announce Ludhiana, Jalandhar candidates on April 16: Punjab CM