Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, highlighting the ongoing struggles of Wayanad’s residents six months after devastating landslides and pressing him to convert a central relief package into a grant. In her letter dated Monday, the Congress general secretary called for greater support to help her constituents recover from the July 2024 disaster.

“As the MP for Wayanad Lok Sabha, I felt it my duty to apprise you of the plight of the people of Chooralmala and Mundakkai in my constituency,” Priyanka stated. “It is indeed heartbreaking that even six months after a horrific tragedy destroyed their lives and livelihoods, they are facing unimaginable hardships while trying to rebuild their lives.” She detailed the July 30 landslides that struck these areas, reporting 298 deaths—231 bodies and 223 body parts recovered, with 32 missing persons declared dead. Additionally, 17 families totaling 58 people were lost, and 1,685 buildings, including homes, schools, and shops, were damaged.

Priyanka noted the destruction of two schools—the Government Vocational Higher Secondary School Vellarmala and the Government Lower Primary School Mundakkai—leaving their 658 students without permanent facilities. “Permanent rehabilitation of these two institutions… is still awaited,” she wrote. She also pointed to 110 acres of ruined agricultural land, once rich with tea, coffee, and cardamom, and the collapse of livelihoods tied to tourism, affecting drivers, shop owners, and guides. Small-scale industry owners in wards 10, 11, and 12 of Meppadi gram panchayat are also struggling, she added.

“Given the above circumstances, it is clear that Wayanad district desperately needs support,” Priyanka asserted, stressing that the slow pace of rehabilitation has worsened residents’ psychological strain. She acknowledged a recently announced Rs 529.50 crore relief package but criticized its terms. “Apart from the fact of its inadequacy, it is unprecedented that the package comes with two conditions: first that the funds shall be disbursed, not as a grant as is the norm, but as a loan, second, that they should be spent in their entirety by the 31st of March 2025,” she said. “These conditions are not only immensely unfair, they display a shocking lack of sensitivity towards the people of Chooralmala and Mundakkai who have suffered such shattering losses.”

Recalling Modi’s post-disaster visit, Priyanka noted it raised hopes that went unmet. “Unfortunately, those expectations have not been fulfilled,” she wrote, citing the government’s refusal to declare it a national disaster. Though later labeled a “Disaster of Severe Nature” after pressure from Kerala MPs, she called the conditional relief package “extremely disappointing.”

“I believe that the people of Wayanad deserve every possible assistance and support to pull themselves out of the terrible misfortune that has befallen them,” Priyanka concluded. “It is my earnest request to you to convert the relief package into a grant and extend the time period for its implementation. This will help them to begin rebuilding their lives. It will also reassure them that the future holds some measure of promise and hope.”
Pic Credit: PTI