Kerala landslide: Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi to visit disaster-stricken Wayanad tomorrow

Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will meet the families affected by the recent landslides that have so far taken 158 lives Wayanad, Kerala. Pic X

Congress top brass Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra are scheduled to visit the disaster-stricken region of Wayanad, Kerala, tomorrow, news agency ANI reported.

They will meet the families affected by the recent landslides that have so far taken 158 lives in the hilly areas of Meppadi in Wayanad. Gandhi and his sister will also be visiting the relief camps that were set up at the schools and medical institutes in Meppadi.

Meanwhile, a day after Wayanad was hit by landslides, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan held a meeting on Wednesday morning to review the rescue operations in the district. Vijayan will be reaching Wayanad tomorrow to attend a state-level all-party meeting.

On Wednesday morning, Union Minister George Kurian visited the landslide-affected areas to take stock of the situation and met with survivors at relief camps.

Currently, a delegation of nine state ministers is in Wayanad, assessing the relief camps.

A total of 1,200 rescue workers from the Indian Army, DSC Centre, Territorial Army, NDRF, Indian Navy and IAF are deployed at the calamity-hit areas. Teams of the Army, Air Force and Navy have joined the NDRF personnel, police force and firefighters in rescue efforts, Kerala Chief Secretary V Venu said.

Navy teams from Ezhimala Naval Base also arrived in Chooralmala on Wednesday morning. An Army canine unit has joined in the efforts to sniff out the bodies buried under the debris of mud and slush. The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) is also actively engaged in the rescue and relief operations for those affected by the landslide with the support of the ICG Disaster Relief Team of Kochi and Beypore.

Chief Minister Vijayan said 45 camps have been set up in Wayanad district and more than 3,000 people have been rehabilitated there.

Meanwhile, based on inputs from the Kerala Government, forest officials and villagers, a team of the 122 Infantry Battalion (TA) Madras, led by Sub Gijil, Sub Jayesh and Nb Sub Anilkumar, along with 12 Jawans, rescued 19 civilians stranded in ElaResort and VanaRani resort beyond Mundakai village, the Defence PRO for Kerala said.

(With ANI inputs)