Congress to build 100 houses for Wayanad disaster victims, says Rahul Gandhi

On the second day of his visit to the landslide-affected areas in Wayanad, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, said that the Congress party will build 100 houses for the people affected by the tragedy.

He was accompanied by Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who is the Congress candidate from the constituency.

The two visited areas like Punchirimadom and Mundakayil and also went to various relief camps.

 An aerial view of the tea plantations after landslides in Wayanad.

After visiting some relief camps, Rahul Gandhi said, "I have been here since yesterday. As I said yesterday, this is a terrible tragedy. We went to the site yesterday. We went to the camps, we assessed the situation there. Today, we had a meeting with the administration and the panchayat. They briefed us on the number of casualties they expect, the number of houses that have been damaged and their strategy. We have said that we are here to help in any way possible. Congress family would like to commit to building 100 plus houses here."

"I think, Kerala has not seen this type of a tragedy in one area, and I am going to raise it in Delhi and also with the chief minister here that this is a different level of tragedy and should be treated differently," added the former MP from Wayanad.

 Search and rescue operation after the landslides in Wayanad. AFP

The number of dead has now reached 302 and 206 more continue to be missing. A rescue team of over 1,500 people is engaged in searching for the missing people in the worst-affected landslide areas of Churalpara, Velarimala, Mundakayil and Punchirimadom.

Connectivity back

Meanwhile, the telecom infrastructure has been augmented and restored to provide continuous coverage in landslide-hit Wayanad in Kerala, to maintain essential communication for rescue teams, government officials and the public, said the government.

The Ministry of Communications said that control rooms, relief distribution centres and emergency response teams have been activated to support residents in Wayanad.

 Army teams pushed deeper on August 2 into Indian tea plantations and villages struck by landslides. 

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) is providing 4G services in landslide-hit Chooralmala and Mundakkai areas of the Wayanad district.

"Diesel engines have been provided to ensure that the towers are functional even when there is no power. Speedy Internet connections have been given to the district administration and toll-free numbers to the Health Department, Government of kerala," the Centre informed.

Airtel is providing 1GB free mobile data per day, unlimited calling and 100 SMS per day (valid for three days) to prepaid customers whose validity has expired and who are unable to recharge.

Airtel has also extended bill payment dates for all postpaid customers by 30 days to ensure customers have uninterrupted access to mobile service.

Vodafone Idea (Vi) has also announced to give 1GB of mobile data free per day for seven days for prepaid customers.

 Search operations continue after landslides hit Mundakkai village. AFP

The extra data will be auto-credited to users' accounts, enabling them to stay in touch with loved ones and access information easily without interruption.

For postpaid customers, Vodafone Idea has extended the due dates for bill payments by 10 days, the Centre said.

More than 8,000 people have been evacuated safely and put up in 82 relief camps.

Indo-Asian News Service