"Hope Govt will now declare this a national disaster": Shashi Tharoor after PM Modi's visit to Wayanad

Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], August 10 (ANI): Congress MP Shashi Tharoor expressed hope that the central government would declare landslides in Kerala's Wayanad that claimed over 300 lives as a national disaster after Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited and inspected the affected sites on Saturday.
Speaking to ANI as he arrived to attend an event in Chennai, Tamil Nadu on Saturday, Tharoor said that it would have been better if the Prime Minister pre-poned his visit and took stock of the situation.
"It would have been better if he had gone earlier and seen the conditions on the ground as some of us have done. I hope that with PM Modi's visit, the government will now make it a point to go ahead and declare this a national disaster so that the appropriate level of assistance can follow," the Congress MP said.
Earlier, PM Modi assured all assistance to aid the relief and rehabilitation after he visited and inspected the landslide-hit areas in Wayanad, Kerala.
The Prime Minister conducted an aerial survey and also physically visited the affected areas during which he was accompanied by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Governor Arif Mohammed Khan, Union Minister Suresh Gopi and Kerala ADGP (law and order) MR Ajith Kumar.
PM Modi also met those who were injured and interacted with the survivors housed in relief camps. In a review meeting, PM Modi reassured that the Central Government and the country are with the disaster-affected victims in the hour of grief. He said detailed memorandum will be sent by the Chief Minister.
The state has requested the central government to declare this as a national disaster and a severe calamity. (ANI)