Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala): Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Wednesday said that rescue operations in Wayanad district of the State, which was hit by an "unprecedented and painful" disaster is continuing at full scale.
A total of 1,592 people have been rescued through extensive and coordinated rescue operations, he said.
"Rescue operations in Wayanad are continuing at full scale. This is an unprecedented and painful disaster."
"So far, 144 bodies have been recovered- 79 men and 64 women. There are still 191 people missing. Efforts are being made to evacuate as many people as possible from the disaster area, and necessary medical treatment is being provided to those who have been rescued," the Chief Minister said.
Responding to Union Home Minister Amit Shah's claim that the State did not heed the timely weather warnings given to it Vijayan said it was not a time for blame game.
"Media provides accurate warnings, and weather alerts are always taken seriously in the state. This is not the time for mutual accusations. The facts are clear to everyone. An orange alert was in place in the area where the disaster occurred. In the first 24 hours, 200 millimetres of rain fell. In the next 24 hours, 372 millimetres of rain fell. A total of 572 millimetres of rain was recorded over 48 hours exceeding the warning levels," the Chief Minister said.
Vijayan said that no red alert was issued for the area before the disaster.
"A red alert was only issued at 6 am on the day of the disaster. The red alert was issued only after the landslide occurred. The severe weather warning and red alert were given on the morning of July 30, after the landslide. The Central Water Commission did not issue any flood warnings for the Punnappra River or Chaliyar River from July 23-29. This is the fact, the statements made in Parliament were factually incorrect," the Kerala chief minister said.
Speaking in Rajya Sabha earlier on Wednesday, the Union Home Minister stated, "Early warning was given, that is why on July 23, we sent nine teams of NDRF and three more were sent yesterday. Had they become alert the day the NDRF teams landed, a lot could have been saved. But this is the time to stand with the government and the people of Kerala. Irrespective of the party politics, the Narendra Modi government will stand with the people of Kerala."
"At the start of the monsoon season, Kerala requested the deployment of the NDRF teams as needed. Evacuating people from disaster-affected areas helped avert a larger catastrophe. No one anticipated another disaster occurring within 6-7 kilometres of the initial disaster's epicentre.
We should not place the blame on anyone. This is not about pointing fingers at each other. Instead, we need to take necessary measures to combat disasters caused by climate change," Vijayan said today.
The Chief Minister said that the state cabinet meeting has raised the demand for the landslides "to be declared a national disaster."
The Kerala Chief Minister convened a meeting in Thiruvananthapuram earlier today at the office of the Disaster Management Authority to take stock of the rescue efforts.
As per a decision taken during the cabinet meeting, the Chief Minister will reach Wayanad on August 1 morning to attend a state-level all-party meeting that has been convened for tomorrow.
"The cabinet meeting evaluated the situation. We are relocating tribal families and providing food to those who are not ready to move. A total of 1,592 people have been rescued through our extensive and coordinated rescue operations," the CM said.
"Currently, there are 82 relief camps in Wayanad district, accommodating 2,017 individuals. In Meppadi, eight camps are housing 1,486 people from 421 families. Priority is being given to rescue operations in Mundakkai, and efforts are progressing well in Attamala and Chooralmala as well," CM Vijayan said.
"Today, an additional 132 army personnel have arrived to support the rescue efforts. Two helicopters are also being utilized for the rescue operations. Post-mortems were conducted both yesterday and last night. A team of doctors from four cooperative hospitals, including those in Kozhikode and Thalassery, will also arrive to assist," the Kerala chief minister added.
