PM Modi’s Visit to Wayanad Scheduled for August 10 Following Landslide

New Delhi:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is planned to travel to landslide-affected Wayanad in Kerala on August 10 (Saturday) and engage with the survivors of the tragedy that struck the southern state last month, a source mentioned on Wednesday.

The Prime Minister is set to land on a unique flight that will touch down in Kannur.

Starting from Kannur, PM Modi will conduct an aerial inspection of the landslide-hit areas on a helicopter. He will then visit several relief camps where over 10,000 individuals are presently housed.

Kerala Governor Arif Mohammad Khan and Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan are anticipated to accompany PM Modi after his arrival in Kannur.

The Vijayan-led state government as well as the Congress-led Opposition have been insisting that the Central government classify the disaster as a national catastrophe.

Meanwhile, the death toll from the tragedy on Wednesday increased to 413, with 152 people still unaccounted for.

The declaration of PM Modi’s visit emerged hours after Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday encouraged the Union government to classify the Wayanad landslide as a national calamity considering the havoc it has caused.

“I urge the Union government to back a comprehensive rehabilitation package for Wayanad. This package must include constructing disaster-resilient infrastructures to aid the affected communities. The Union government should also increase the compensation that people are receiving. Significantly, the Union government should classify the Wayanad landslide as a national disaster,” LoP Rahul Gandhi stated while addressing the Lok Sabha.

He emphasized that there is a necessity for a comprehensive support strategy from the Union to reconstruct Wayanad.

On August 1, Rahul Gandhi along with his sister — Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra — visited the landslide-affected Chooralmala in Kerala’s Wayanad.