Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha and former Wayanad MP visited the landslides-hit Chooralmala area of the Kerala district on Thursday along with his sister and Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and also met affected people at a community health centre. After visiting ravaged areas of Wayanad, Rahul Gandhi said he feels how he felt when his father, former Prime Minister of India Rajiv Gandhi, died.
Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi also visited Dr Moopen's Medical College in Meppadi where the bodies of the victims were kept in refrigerator coffins.
All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary and Alappuzha MP K C Venugopal was also accompanying the duo.
Massive landslides triggered by torrential rains hit Mundakkai, Chooralmala, Attamala, and Noolpuzha hamlets in the early hours of Tuesday, killing over 200 people, including women and children, so far. The death toll is expected to go higher as rescue and relief work by the NDRF, Indian Army and other government agencies remains underway.
Gandhi, who won from the Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency in the 2019 general elections, had again won from here this year.
However, as he also won from the Raebareli LS seat in Uttar Pradesh, he gave up the Wayanad constituency from where Priyanka is expected to contest when a by-election is held there.
Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra landed at Kannur airport at 9.30 am and then travelled to Wayanad by road.
Rahul Gandhi said it was a "terrible tragedy for Wayanad" and the nation. "To me, this is a national disaster for sure, but let's see what the government says," he said in response to reporters' queries.
"I feel how I felt when my father died. I remember what I felt when my father died... and here people have not just lost a father, they have lost their entire family. 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..." said Congress MP Rahul Gandhi.
Gandhi further said, "We have come here to see the situation. It is quite a painful experience to see that people lost their family members and houses. It’s very difficult to speak to people in these circumstances because you really don’t know what to say to them.
Kerala CM Says Rescue Op A Long Battle
After a meeting with ministers part of a sub-committee formed to overlook the rescue operations in landslides-hit Wayanad, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan told the media that the Army representatives had apprised that all those who could be saved from the debris had been rescued, adding that there still are many missing people and that the rescue work is "not something that will be over in a few days".
"There are so many missing people. We have recovered so many bodies from many parts of the region. The rescue workers have recovered many bodies from the Chaliyar River. Many body parts were also recovered," news agency PTI quoted the chief minister as saying added.
"This rescue attempt is not something which can be resolved in a short period of time. As of now, 12 ministers are camping in Wayanad. Now the all-party meeting has decided that four ministers will camp here to coordinate the rescue operations," Vijayan said.
