PM Modi's Wayanad Visit Sparks Calls for National Disaster Declaration

Congress leader Harish Rawat praised PM Modi's response to the Wayanad landslide but urged him to declare it a national disaster. PM Modi assured support, but officials noted no provision for such a declaration exists. Over 300 lives were lost in the calamity.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the landslide-hit Wayanad district of Kerala elicited praise from Congress leader Harish Rawat, who lauded the PM's response but called for the area to be declared a national disaster. "The matter of Wayanad is a natural disaster and there should not be any politics on it. The PM has given a good message by keeping Wayanad his priority. This message will strengthen even further if he declares it a national disaster. A lot of work needs to be done there," Rawat stated.

Drawing comparisons to the Kedarnath calamity, Rawat emphasized the severity of the Wayanad disaster, calling it 'deeper and more vast.' In a review meeting on Saturday in Wayanad, PM Modi assured the central government's commitment to Kerala, ensuring no work would be hampered due to a lack of funds. "I want to assure the families of the deceased that they are not alone. We are all standing with them. The Central Government stands with the Kerala Government and we will ensure no work is hampered due to the lack of money," Modi assured.

In response to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's request to declare the landslides a national disaster, government sources stated that no such provision exists. A 2013 Lok Sabha reply by then Minister of State for Home, Mullappally Ramachandran, confirmed this, stating, "there is no provision to declare a natural disaster as a national disaster." The Wayanad landslides resulted in the loss of over 300 lives after hitting Chooralmala and Mundakkai on July 30.

(With inputs from agencies.)