Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Thursday claimed that over 200 people have lost their lives in the Wayanad landslides incident, emphasizing the need for preventive measures and focusing on rescue efforts.
“We are focusing on the hope of rescuing some people still because the truth is 200 lives have been lost, but another 200 people are still missing. Two villages have disappeared from the map in this severe crisis. The Union Home Minister said that an early warning was issued, but the CM said that the warning was not sufficiently serious—it was a green or orange alert, not a red alert. All of these things can be disputed later. Eventually, preventive measures are required. I don’t want to get into a political debate,” Tharoor told reporters.
According to the Kerala Revenue Department, the death toll in the Wayanad landslides climbed to 167 on Thursday, with people injured, marooned, and missing.
“I have asked for it to be declared a severe calamity because, under the MPLADS fund, any MP in India can donate up to Rs 1 crore for a natural calamity once the government declares it so. I hope the government will listen to my request,” Tharoor said.
On Wednesday, Tharoor wrote to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, seeking the declaration of the Wayanad Landslide as a “calamity of severe nature” under the Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS) guidelines to facilitate urgent assistance from MPs to the affected areas.
When asked about the Disaster Management Act of 2005, Tharoor said that they had not received the text yet. “We have not yet seen the text of the proposed new Disaster Management Bill. Once we see it, we will be able to respond,” he added.
Amit Shah is set to introduce a bill to amend the Disaster Management Act, 2005, in both Houses of Parliament today.
RJD MP Manoj Jha said that the central and state governments should work together for relief and rescue. “The Chief Minister of Kerala has written a letter saying he had not received any such warning. Tragedies unite us, but we do not speak in one voice even in tragedy—politics dominates. The central and state governments should work together for relief and rescue,” Jha said.
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Priyanka Chaturvedi said that the BJP government has “diluted” environmental policies. “According to climate scientists, what is happening in Kerala is due to the Arabian Sea getting warmer, leading to frequent landslides and incessant rainfall. Amit Shah claimed that he gave a radar warning, which proved to be false. Tejasvi Surya, from Bengaluru South, disappears when it rains there. Nobody has ever seen him involved in any rescue operations. BJP workers need to keep in mind that this is a sensitive issue related to climate change. The BJP government has diluted environmental policies,” Chaturvedi said.
On the Wayanad landslide and Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s statement, Congress MP Pramod Tiwari said that this is a moment of extreme pain for the people. “The Home Minister is saying they had warned, but the CM of the state is saying they did not receive any warning, and the warning that has come is after the incident. This is a moment of extreme pain for people. The issue with the central government is that they show reluctance to help where there is a non-BJP government,” Tiwari said.
On Wednesday, the Home Minister said that the Kerala government could have minimized the losses in Wayanad if they had become alert after the Central government’s warning about potential landslides and the risk to people’s lives. “Early warning was given, which 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 party politics, the Narendra Modi government will stand with the people of Kerala,” Amit Shah said.
Meanwhile, in Wayanad, Brigadier Arjun Segan, Commandant of the Para Regimental Training Centre, said that the rescue and search operation is underway. “Today is the third day of the rescue and search operation. We built a metallic footbridge overnight. We hope to complete the work on the Bailey Bridge, which is for a 24-tonne weight category, by this afternoon. Our engineers were on the job throughout the night. We sent five earth-moving equipment yesterday, and today we have sent more. This is making our search operation much easier,” Segan said.
Earlier, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan arrived in Wayanad. Chief Secretary V Venu and DGP Shaik Darvesh Sahib accompanied the Chief Minister on the helicopter from Thiruvananthapuram. The Chief Minister is meeting officials to review the situation at the landslide-hit sites. He will later in the day visit the site where the rescue operations are underway.
Two massive landslides struck Mundakkai and Churalmala in Wayanad in the early hours of July 30, causing extensive destruction, and 167 people were declared dead in the aftermath of the landslides, according to the Kerala Revenue Department.
(With ANI Inputs)
Also Read: Wayanad Landslide: Death Toll Surged To 256, 220 People Remain Missing
