Modi visits landslide-hit Wayanad, meets victims

Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the landslide-devastated areas of Wayanad district in Kerala on Saturday and trekked through the disaster-stricken Chooralmala to get a firsthand view of the destruction caused by the July 30 landslides.

Modi also visited one of the relief camps, which is home to many of those displaced in the massive landslides, and interacted with some of the survivors, including two children who lost their loved ones in the disaster that has claimed over 200 lives.

Modi arrived in the hill district by helicopter from Kannur airport.

He walked through the affected regions to assess the damage.

Later, the Prime Minister visited the camp at Meppadi around 2.30 pm and spent nearly half an hour there, interacting with some of the survivors.

He spoke to them, heard their concerns and needs, and tried to comfort them, according to visuals shown on TV channels.

Modi placed his hands on the heads and shoulders of the victims as they broke into tears while recounting their ordeal to the PM.

Prior to landing in Kalpetta, Modi conducted an aerial survey of the landslide-ravaged areas of Chooralmala, Mundakkai, and Punchirimattam hamlets aboard an Indian Air Force helicopter.

He landed at the SKMJ Higher Secondary School in Kalpetta and then travelled by road to Chooralmala, where a 190-foot-long Bailey bridge had been built by the army after the disaster. The PM walked on the bridge, while surveying the damage.

After reaching Chooralmala, Modi got down from his vehicle, interacted with rescue personnel, state chief secretary V Venu and district officials, and surveyed the area--strewn with boulders and debris-- on foot.

He was accompanied by Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Union Minister Suresh Gopi.

Modi, Khan, Vijayan, and Gopi also walked on the Bailey bridge as officials briefed the PM about the situation on the ground and the rescue operations being carried out.

In the aerial survey, he saw the origin of the landslide, which is in the origin of Iruvazhinji Puzha (River).

He also observed the worst affected areas of Punchirimattam, Mundakkai and Chooralmala.

Hundreds were gathered on the roadsides along the route taken by the PM's convoy to Chooralmala to catch a glimpse of him.

As many as 226 people have lost their lives and over 130 remain missing in one of the worst calamities to have struck Kerala in the early hours of July 30.