Kerala floods: Rahul Gandhi visits flooded areas in Wayanad, including worst-hit Puthumala area, assures help to victims

Wayanad: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday visited flood-affected areas in his Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency, including worst-hit Puthumala and assured all help to those hit by the calamity to rebuild their lives. At Puthumala, where a landslide had wreaked havoc in the area, Gandhi said many people are feared to be still trapped beneath the debris. “I visited the epicentre of Puthumala landslide at Meppadi in Wayanad. This is the site of a terrible landslide that destroyed an entire village, many people are still feared to be trapped & rescue work is ongoing,” he said in his Twitter account.

On the 2nd day of my visit to Wayanad, my parliamentary constituency that has been badly hit by devastating floods, I met with members of the media to update them on my review meetings with state & district officials and my visits to affected sites and relief camps. pic.twitter.com/sbr9tC0ayx

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) August 12, 2019

He interacted with people in relief camps at Meppadi in Wayanad and Kaithapoil in Kozhikode district. “I know it is a difficult time but I request you not to worry about your future. We’re going to stand with you, we’re going to help you and we’re going to make sure that you’re able to rebuild your lives,” Gandhi told them. The Wayanad MP distributed relief materials to people at the relief camp in Kaithapoil. He told flood-affected people at Meppadi and Kaithapoil that as their representative, he has spoken to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Prime Minister Narendra Modi “to ask for help for this region from the state and Central governments.” Referring to his meeting with state government officials, Gandhi said he had asked: “them to bring in reconstruction, give compensation and distribute medicines and cleaning equipment at the earliest.” Gandhi also extended his Eid greetings to the people. “Let us take the spirit of Eid to help all our brothers and sisters who are in pain and in suffering today”, he said. Earlier, Gandhi appealed to the people to provide relief materials to those hit by the devastating floods in his constituency. Gandhi, currently visiting areas ravaged by floods and landslides in his constituency, posted the appeal on his Facebook page. “My Parliamentary constituency Wayanad has been devastated by floods with thousands left homeless and shifted to relief camps”, Gandhi said. “We are in urgent need of materials, including water bottles, sleeping mats, blankets, undergarments, dhotis, nightgowns, children’s apparel, slippers, sanitary napkins, soaps, toothbrushes, toothpaste, Dettol, soap powder, bleaching powder and chlorine,” he said. Gandhi appealed to donors to send the material to collection centres in Malappuram district, which he listed. He had on 11 August termed as ‘heartbreaking", the suffering of people due to floods and landslides in his constituency Wayanad and urged the state and Central governments to provide immediate aid to those hit by the natural calamity in Kerala. After visiting people affected by floods and landslides in some relief centres, Gandhi had promised to do everything possible to get them back on their feet. Three assembly segments in Malappuram district form part of Gandhi’s Wayanad constituency. Gandhi, who won with a record margin from the hill constituency in the April Lok Sabha elections, said during his stay he would visit relief camps across Wayanad and review relief measures with state government officials. The Congress leader had said he had spoken to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Wayanad District Collector and Congress workers in the state on the flood situation in his constituency. This is his second visit to Wayanad after the election. Earlier, he had come on a three-day thanksgiving visit when he addressed roadshows and public meetings in the constituency. Gandhi chose Wayanad as his second seat in addition to the party stronghold of Amethi in Uttar Pradesh, which he, however, lost in the 2019 polls.