Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah announced on Saturday, August 3, that the state government will undertake the construction of 100 houses for the victims affected by landslides in Wayanad.
In a social media post, Siddaramaiah expressed solidarity with Kerala following the tragic landslides that occurred on July 30.
“I have assured CM Shri @pinarayivijayan of our support and announced that Karnataka will construct 100 houses for the victims. Together, we will rebuild and restore hope,” he said.
This comes a day after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi promised that the party would build over a hundred houses for the affected individuals in Wayanad. The former Wayanad MP who is overseeing the rescue operations stated that the present focus should be on finding the bodies, finding missing people and rehabilitation of the survivors.
Rahul Gandhi, accompanied by his sister Priyanka Gandhi, visited Wayanad on August 1. During their visit, they inspected relief camps and surveyed the affected areas. A meeting with local authorities was convened to assess the extent of casualties and property damage caused by the landslides.
Priyanka Gandhi will contest from the Wayanad Lok Sabha seat in Kerala during a bypoll as Rahul decided to retain the Rae Bareli seat in Uttar Pradesh. Wayanad was previously represented by Rahul Gandhi.
Wayanad district in Kerala has witnessed three landslides that occurred within a span of four hours. The areas that have been most hit include - Meppadi, Chooralmala, Vythiri and Mundakkai.
According to official figures, up to 215 people have been confirmed dead so far and 143 body parts have been recovered. The postmortem examination of 212 bodies and 140 body parts have been completed. Special teams have been formed to collect and analyse DNA samples from body parts and that of dead bodies to identify the victims and match them to their nearest relatives.
Wayand is a hilly region dotted by tea estates. The estate workers live in houses called ‘layams’ on the hills. Many of the layams were destroyed in the rains, while others have simply been devastated by landslides, trapping and killing the residents.