"Mundakai-Chooralmala disaster will forever remain a pain in our hearts": Kerala CM on anniversary of Wayanad landslides

Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) [India], July 30 (ANI): Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has urged all the stakeholders to move forward together with uncompromising efforts to complete the rehabilitation of survivors of the Wayanad landslides on the first anniversary of the disaster.
In a message on Tuesday, the Chief Minister said that the Mundakai-Chooralmala is one of the great symbols of the Kerala model of overcoming any difficult situation together without losing confidence.
The landslides occurred in the early hours of July 30, 2024, and claimed the lives of over 300 people from Chooralmala, Mundakkai, Attamala and Punchirimattom.
"The memories of the Mundakai-Chooralmala disaster will forever remain a pain in our hearts," Vijayan said.
"We were able to implement and coordinate rescue operations in the best possible way immediately after the disaster. The disaster relief operations carried out by the people along with the government institutions underlined the unity and willpower of the country," he said.
"The government, which gathered all the people in the disaster area who had lost their loved ones and lives, shifted them to safe centres without wasting any time. All the necessary facilities, including ensuring psychological support, were prepared in specially set-up camps. Special measures were taken to ensure the mental health of the children in the camps. With the help of teachers, they were provided with a way to continue their studies in the camps themselves," he added.
The Cabinet Sub-Committee was stationed in Wayanad for two months to coordinate the activities to fill the gaps in the relief operations. The government's constant attention was ensured in every aspect. The government, which followed the announcement to the letter that temporary rehabilitation would be completed within a month of the disaster, shifted all the people in the relief camps to other rehabilitation sites by August 24.
Not only those living in rented houses, but also those who have moved to relatives' houses of their own free will, are being provided Rs 6,000 per month from the Chief Minister's Relief Fund, calculated as a rental house, until July. This assistance will continue until the rehabilitation becomes permanent, he said.
A total of Rs 3,98,10,200 has been spent on house rent from the Chief Minister's Relief Fund till May 2025. Rs 6 lakh each has been allocated to the dependents of those who died in the disaster. In addition to the amount allocated from the SDRF, Rs 50,000 each has been allocated to those seriously injured, Rs 50,000 each to those with 40 to 60 per cent disability, and Rs 75,000 each to those with more than 60 to 80 per cent disability.
The government is also bearing the cost of further treatment of the disaster victims. A counselling system has also been set up to restore mental health. Steps have also been taken to meet all the disaster victims and provide counseling services if needed in connection with the anniversary, the Chief Minister said.
Meanwhile, Congress MP from Wayanad Priyanka Vadra said even after a year, the people who suffered the tragedy are still struggling.
"We have requested to raise this in the zero hour. Even after a year, the people who suffered the tragedy are still struggling... The fact that the central government sent those funds as a loan is unprecedented. The point is to help them. How will they ever repay these loans? It is a small amount for the central government. They should waive the loans," she said. (ANI)