Minister, LDF leaders get stuck in raft during electioneering

MALAPPURAM: Minister O R Kelu and LDF leaders got stuck in the raft while going for election campaign. The minister and the leaders got stuck in the raft last evening when they reached Malappuram Vazhikkadavu. The incident happened while crossing Punnapuzha in Vazhikkadavu. When the minister and the LDF leaders were going on the raft, they could not move forward and it got stuck in the river.

The minister and his team were brought ashore after half an hour of efforts by the police, locals and the Thunderbolt team after knowing about the incident. The minister was on his way to Vazhikkadavu Punchakolli Tribal Colony to campaign for the Wayanad Lok Sabha by-elections. Until 2018, there was a bridge made of iron to go to the tribal colony. The bridge was destroyed in the floods in 2018.

With this, the families of Punchakolli tribal Nagar use rafts made of bamboo to cross the river. The minister got stuck while coming in this raft. The locals were constantly demanding a bridge to be constructed. They rely on rafts to reach the other side even to go the hospitals. Meanwhile, the minister himself got stuck in the river.