Wayanad: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has inaugrated the township project to rehabilitate 402 families displaced in the landslides in Wayanad. Chief Minister unveiled the project plaque before laying foundation stone of the township at Elstone Estate in Kalpetta here on Wednesday.
Launding the unity of Keralites in rescue and relief mission for Wayanad, the CM said that the state took up the mission to rehabilitate the landslide survivors while facing financial crisis.
“Unity and humanity of Kerala helped us to execute the project. We proved that determination can beat anything impossible,” said the CM.
“Revenue minister introduced me a boy today. Rescueres rescue him from the muddy land hit by the landslides. Doctors brought him back to life after removing the mud from his internal organs. Such numerous stories are recollected while visitng Wayanad,” he said.
“Government is implementing the project by coordinating help from all corners. This rehabilitation project is in the spotlight as a model in the national as well as international level. It will be a historic one too,” added the CM.
A total of 266 people were killed and 32 went missing in the landslides that struck Wayand’s Mundakkai and Chooralmala areas on July 30, 2024. A total of 630 people were recovered from the muddy land.
“We needed ₹ 2,221 croe for rehabilitation project. But the centre refused to meet our demand. Though we requested the centre to declare the disaster as national disaster, there was no positive response,” said the CM taking a jibe at the centre.
Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi, ministers K Rajan and Mohammad Riyas, Kadannappally Ramachandran opposition leader VD Satheesan, and others are attending the ceremony.
Minister K Rajan who chaired the programme said that the township project aims to construct houses, schools, playgrounds, library and all other facilities for a community. He added that the government will sponsor the education of 21 students who lost their families in the landslides.
Currently, the people displaced in the landslides at Mundakkai and Chooralmala are housed at 16 panchayats across the district.
Close to the event venue, a plan for a house to be constructed on 7-cent land is on display.
The beneficiaries were seen as emotional while attending the inaugural function of the township project.
The township is being built on government-acquired land and will feature single-storey houses of 1,000 sq ft on seven-cent plots, with provisions for future expansion into two-storey homes. The township will also include essential amenities such as a health centre, anganwadi, market and community centre.
The Uralungal Labour Contract Co-operative Society (ULCCS), which is constructing the township, has assured that disaster-affected families will be able to move into their new homes by December. If the High Court delivers its final verdict on April 3, construction will commence the very next day.