Wayanad, Aug 7 (IANS) The death toll in the devastating landslides in Kerala’s Wayanad has reached 413, with 152 people still missing even as the rescue operations entered the ninth day.
The over 1,000-strong rescue team comprising personnel from the Defence forces, NDRF, SDRF, police, fire services and volunteers began searches early on Wednesday morning in the four worst-affected areas in Churalmala, Velarimala, Mundakayil and Punchirimadom.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has said that the search operations will continue till the defence forces take the call.
The present search operations are now taking place in areas where people lived and remained marooned soon after the worst-ever natural disaster took place in the history of Kerala on July 30.
The worst thing that has dawned after the tragedy struck the four villages in the Wayanad district, CM Vijayan on Tuesday pointed out was that 76 bodies and numerous body parts were recovered in and around Nilambur located in Malappuram district from the Chaliyar River, which originates in Wayanad district.
On Wednesday also a team of rescue officials was searching the Chaliyar River.
There are over 100 relief camps mostly set up in various educational institutions in and around the affected areas, where over 10,300 people are presently housed.
Until a few days back, there was no blame game as all focus was on rescue, relief and rehabilitation. But, now a war of words has broken out targeting CM Vijayan. Union Minister for Environment Bhupender Yadav termed it a man-made disaster. The Congress-led opposition has demanded that the money that has started pouring into the Chief Minister’s Distress Relief Fund should be properly utilised, unlike in 2018.
The country’s longest-serving Defence Minister and Congress veteran A.K. Antony gave a clarion call to concentrate on rehabilitation works and not engage in scoring political brownie points in the aftermath of the disaster.
–IANS
sg/dpb
Disclaimer
The information contained in this website is for general information purposes only. The information is provided by TodayIndia.news and while we endeavour to keep the information up to date and correct, we make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability or availability with respect to the website or the information, products, services, or related graphics contained on the website for any purpose. Any reliance you place on such information is therefore strictly at your own risk.
In no event will we be liable for any loss or damage including without limitation, indirect or consequential loss or damage, or any loss or damage whatsoever arising from loss of data or profits arising out of, or in connection with, the use of this website.
Through this website you are able to link to other websites which are not under the control of TodayIndia.news We have no control over the nature, content and availability of those sites. The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.
Every effort is made to keep the website up and running smoothly. However, TodayIndia.news takes no responsibility for, and will not be liable for, the website being temporarily unavailable due to technical issues beyond our control.
For any legal details or query please visit original source link given with news or click on Go to Source.
Our translation service aims to offer the most accurate translation possible and we rarely experience any issues with news post. However, as the translation is carried out by third part tool there is a possibility for error to cause the occasional inaccuracy. We therefore require you to accept this disclaimer before confirming any translation news with us.
If you are not willing to accept this disclaimer then we recommend reading news post in its original language.