Wayanad tragedy: 119 people still missing, 17 families perished

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Tuesday assured to fastrack the rehabilitation of the landslide victims in Wayanad’s Chooralmala. Almost 119 people are still missing from the disastrous landslides, said CM Pinarayi Vijayan.

DNA samples of 91 people and relatives of those missing people were collected and sent for testing. The Chief Minister added that 75 government quarters have been set up.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan:

"Steps are being taken to rehabilitate the affected people. The Chief Secretary of the State has been tasked to discuss various aspects of rehabilitation with disaster response experts and representatives of the people in the disaster area. After gathering the opinions of all concerned, we will finalize the rehabilitation plan.

At first, 729 families were living in camps in the disaster-affected area. Currently, 219 families are living in the camps. Others have found rental housing while others moved into their relatives' houses. 75 government quarters have been renovated and made habitable. These can accommodate 83 families. The owners of 177 houses identified by the government are ready to rent them out. Among these, 123 houses are now in the best condition for rehabilitation. Even 22 families have already moved into these rental houses.

Almost 17 families have been completely wiped out in the landslides with not even one member surviving. 6 lakh have already been distributed to the dependents of 59 deceased persons including Rs.4 lakhs from SDRF and Rs.2 lakhs from CMDRF.

The support from banks in Kerala will be vital for the rehabilitation of the landslide victims."