Wayanad landslide survivors protest over delay in relief and rehabilitation

Thiruvananthapuram: Upset over the delay in proper relief and rehabilitation, survivors of the Mundakkai-Chooralmala landslide of Wayanad have launched an agitation.

The landslide survivors, who recently formed an action council, on Wednesday staged a token demonstration in front of Wayanad district collectorate. They plan to intensify their stir unless the state and centre speeds up the relief and rehabilitation measures.

Their key demands are to speed up permanent rehabilitation, provide means for livelihood, write off their bank dues and resume the search for 47 people still missing.

They also said that the DNA tests to determine the identity of the recovered body parts were also pending.

Even as the state government identified two plantations for setting up townships for rehabilitating the survivors, the acquisition steps are caught up in legal tangles.

Meanwhile, the Kerala High Court on Wednesday directed the state government to install an effective system for disbursing financial assistance to the landslide survivors.

The central government informed the court that a high-powered committee was examining whether to declare the tragedy as a national disaster. They said the committee would arrive at a decision soon.

The state government informed that the scheme to provide Rs 300 per day to the disaster victims would be extended for another 30 days.

A bench comprising justices A K Jayasankaran Nambiar and Syam Kumar V M is hearing a case initiated suo motto by the high court following the July 30 landslides that claimed over 250 lives. The case will be considered again on November 15.

Relief and rehabilitation of the landslide victims have become a key point of discussion in the ongoing by-poll campaign at Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency.

Congress candidate Priyanka Gandhi had strongly attacked the Centre for the delay in announcing financial assistance to the landslide hit people.