Confident PM will declare Wayanad landslides national disaster once he sees devastation: Rahul Gandhi

Team Udayavani, Aug 10, 2024, 8:19 AM IST

Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi with AICC General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and party leader KC Venugopal visits a landslide-hit area, in Wayanad district, Friday, Aug. 2, 2024. (Credit: PTI)

New Delhi: Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Friday said it was a good decision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to visit landslides-hit Wayanad and expressed confidence that once he sees the extent of the devastation firsthand, the prime minister will declare it a national disaster.

Modi will visit Kerala’s Wayanad district on Saturday to review the relief-and-rehabilitation efforts and interact with survivors.

Officials said Modi will reach Kannur around 11 am and then undertake an aerial survey of the landslides-affected areas in Wayanad.

“Thank you, Modi ji, for visiting Wayanad to personally take stock of the terrible tragedy. This is a good decision,” Gandhi said in a post on X.

“I am confident that once the Prime Minister sees the extent of the devastation firsthand, he will declare it a national disaster,” the former Congress chief said.

During Modi’s visit, teams involved in the rescue operations will brief him about the evacuation efforts.

The prime minister will also visit relief camps and hospitals to interact with the survivors of the landslides, the officials said.

Modi will then chair a review meeting during which he will be briefed in detail about the incidents and the ongoing relief efforts.

At least 226 people died and many remain unaccounted for after landslides hit the region on July 30, in what was likely one of the biggest natural disasters to have hit Kerala.

Gandhi, the member of Parliament from Rae Bareli in Uttar Pradesh, represented Wayanad in the previous Lok Sabha.