Wayanad (Kerala): Leader of Opposition Shri Rahul Gandhi said it was painful to see people who have lost family members and homes in the massive landslides that hit Wayanad and termed it a ‘National Disaster’. He visited the landslide-hit Chooralmala area of Wayanad along with AICC General Secretary and his sister Smt. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on August 1, 2024.

Leader of Opposition Shri Rahul Gandhi took stock of the situation in the area and met the affected people. More than 300 people have died so far after three landslides struck Wayanad on July 30, 2024, following heavy rain. Mundakkai, Chooralmala, Attamala, and Noolpuzha villages in the Kerala district were the worst affected due to the landslides.

The Army has rescued around 1,000 people and 220 people are still missing. Several countries, including the US, Russia, China and Iran, expressed condolences over the deaths due to landslides. Shri Rahul Gandhi spoke to the media after meeting the affected people in Wayanad. Extracts of the detailed press conference is as follows:

Shri Rahul Gandhi said- It’s a terrible tragedy for Wayanad, for Kerala and for the nation. We have come here to see the situation. It’s quite a painful experience to see how many people have lost family members, lost houses. It’s very difficult to speak to the people in these circumstances, because really you don’t know what to say to them.

So, it has been quite a difficult day for me, but we are going to try and help, make sure that the survivors get what is their due. A lot of them want to be relocated, so I hope the government takes that into account. There is still a lot of work to be done here. But it is a huge tragedy. I would like to thank all the people, who are working here- the doctors, the nurses, the administration, volunteers. I am very proud of everyone who is working here, but it’s very-very sad to see (this).

Question on declaring National Disaster

Shri Rahul Gandhi said- Well, let’s see, to me this is a national disaster for sure, but let us see what the government says.

Question on providing assistance

Shri Rahul Gandhi said- Look, I don’t think this is the place or the time to talk about political issues. People here require help. So, I think the time right now is to make sure that all the assistance comes. There are people here who are in shock, they need medical assistance. So, I think those are the things we should be discussing. I am not interested in politics right now; I am interested in the people of Wayanad, I am interested in them getting the best possible care, best possible protection and you know… being looked after for the future.

On question that how you feel after this disaster

Shri Rahul Gandhi said- I feel how I felt when my father died … I have seen so many people... I remember what I felt when my father died and here, people have not just lost father, they have lost the whole family… entire family, brother, sister, mother, father. So, I know what I felt, and this is much worse than that and it’s not one person who is feeling it, it’s thousands of people who are feeling it. So, it’s very-very sad and I think we all owe these people respect, affection and we should all be standing with them, and I am very proud that a lot of people are standing with the people of Wayanad. In fact, the whole nation’s attention is towards Wayanad and I am sure that the whole nation is going to help the people of Wayanad. Thank you very much! Smt. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said- I feel very similar to what my brother feels. We have spent the whole day meeting people who have suffered. It’s an immense tragedy. We have met a little boy, who was holding on for six hours, trying to save his mother… not just his mother, his whole family and he failed… he managed to save his grandmother, but he failed to save his mother. We can only imagine the kind of pain that people are suffering and as my brother said, they have lost their entire families.

So, we are here to give as much comfort and support as we can to help in any way we can, and I am also very proud to see how everybody is coming together… not just from Wayanad and from Kerala, but from the whole country to help everybody who is going through this.

I think that in times like this, all of us should just do everything that we can to support our countrymen and those who are suffering. There has been a big tragedy in Himachal Pradesh as well today. I think perhaps over 40 people have passed away there as well in a very similar situation. So, our condolences and wishes for them also to get over this tragedy as best as they can, and all our support and help to everybody… and I just have no words actually.

On question that there are so many people who have lost their whole families, do you have anything in mind for them,

Smt. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said- Our state governments have also offered help. We are helping from here and of course, the administration here is also doing all they can. And when we are here tomorrow, we are thinking of sitting down and just charting out how many affected people there are, what all we can do, what help is coming, how much support is coming and how we can assist… especially the children who are left on their own.

On rehabilitation question, Smt. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said- I think one thing is very clear that everybody who has been affected, who is living in this area… most of them are saying that they don’t want to go back and live in the same area, because it’s not the first time this has happened here. So, I think we will have to think of some solution, where they can be rehabilitated in a safer area.

On 2nd day of his Visit

Shri Rahul Gandhi says victims must be rehabilitated in safer areas and committed to build more than 100 houses in Wayanad WAYANAD: Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha and former Wayanad MP Shri Rahul Gandhi on August 2, 2024, committed that the Congress family will build 100 plus houses in the disaster hit areas of Wayanad.

During an informal interaction with reporters on the second day of his visit to the disaster hit areas, Shri Rahul Gandhi said, the victims and the uprooted people do not want to go back to the same areas. He said, they will need to be rehabilitated in safer areas and must not be forced to go back to the same areas.

Shri Rahul Gandhi, along with his sister Priyanka Gandhi, today visited the landslide-hit areas in Punchirimattam and Mundakkai, and met the affected people there. Today, they also had a meeting with the district administration and the panchayat delegation.

The officials briefed LoP Shri Rahul Gandhi on the number of casualties they apprehended, the number of houses that have been damaged and their strategy for relief and rehabilitation. Assuring that he was there to help in every possible way, Shri Rahul Gandhi said, Congress family would like to commit to build 100 plus houses there.Maintaining that it was a terrible tragedy, he observed Kerala has not seen this type of a devastating tragedy in one area. He said, he was going to raise it in Delhi and also with the Chief Minister here, that the disaster should be treated differently. “This is a different level of tragedy, and it should be treated differently”, he remarked.

To a question whether he was going to take any proactive measures to put an end to these kind of tragedies, Shri Gandhi said, “Yes, that is part of the discussion, but, right now, the focus is on finding the bodies of people, finding potential survivors and making sure that they are comfortable in the camps and also rehabilitating people”.