Congress MP from Wayanad Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Saturday visited the Meenakshi Bridge site at Kallady in Meppadi, where a landslide had occurred at a tunnel construction site on July 7. The landslide near the tunnel construction site at Kallady under Meppadi Gram Panchayat buried a large part of the work site under an estimated 7 to 10 feet of debris.
During his visit, Gandhi said immediate temporary measures should be taken to prevent the debris and soil present at the site from causing further problems, while permanent measures can be taken after the ongoing investigation is completed.
She told reporters, "I came to see the site, and I was discussing that while this investigation is going on and all this is being done, whatever temporary measures need to be taken should be done so that the debris and mud that we are seeing does not create any problem. We should do those temporary measures immediately. And then permanent measures can be taken gradually... I mean, as soon as the investigation and all this is over."
Gandhi also criticized the Centre, alleging political bias in the distribution of aid and saying states should try to do whatever they can on their own.
He said, "There is always a political bias at the Centre. We know that. It is the same in Himachal Pradesh, other states and here too. So we really cannot depend on them too much. We have to try to do all that we can and we are trying to do all that we can from the state itself."
Following the incident, the Kerala government announced an ex-gratia of Rs 5 lakh from the Chief Minister's Disaster Relief Fund (CMDRF) for the dependents of those who lost their lives in the Kallady Tunnel Phase-3 landslide. Financial assistance up to Rs 2 lakh was also sanctioned for the injured persons depending on the nature of their injuries.
The state government has also constituted an expert committee to investigate the causes of the landslide, including possible violation of contract terms, circumstances leading to the incident and non-compliance with environment and forest clearance norms. According to the government, tunnel construction work will resume only after the committee submits its report. (ANI)
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianetnews Editorial staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
