Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, on Wednesday, demanded in the House that the Wayanad natural disaster causing great loss of life be declared a national disaster.
Raising the issue during the Zero Hour, Mr Gandhi urged the Central government to announce a comprehensive rehabilitation package and enhance the compensation announced for the victims.
He said he had visited the affected Wayanad region a few days back and saw the devastation. A two kilometre part of a hill had collapsed, bringing with it a river of mud and stones. The number of the dead could go up to 400.
Mr Gandhi said the work of the NDRF and SDRF was remarkable, along with the assistance rendered by the Army, Navy, Coastal Guard and other agencies. State governments of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Telangana had rendered useful help.
It was nice to see that people of all communities and ideologies were engaged in the relief work, he said.
It was a real tragedy, and sad to see that in many cases, just one member of a family had survived, he said. Mr Gandhi said he was grateful to the House for its support in the serious situation.
Mr Gandhi said he would urge the Union government to support a comprehensive rehabilitation package for the affected communities, enhance the compensation for bereaved families, and declare the Wayanad landslides a “National Disaster.”