Kerala govt only interested in photo shoots, not rehabilitation of Wayand victims: BJP

Wayanad, Aug 22 (IANS) Kerala BJP on Thursday said that the state government is only interested in photo shoots and not in the rehabilitation of Wayand victims.

“The enthusiasm and the efforts of Kerala government which we saw during first few days has now vanished. It appears that the state government is interested in photo shoots only and not in the rehabilitation of the Wayanad victims,” state BJP chief K. Surendran said.

He said that the Wayand victims have been left to fend for themselves which is criminal negligence on the part of the state government.

“Things are in bad shape in Wayanad. People continue to be in camps and no serious efforts have been undertaken by the government for their rehabilitation,” he said.

He said that five years back a landslide hit Puthumala. “I also met victims there. They informed me that the Kerala government’s promises continue to remain on paper only. I am worried that the same may happen with the Wayanad victims as well,” said Surendran.

On July 30, four villages in the Wayanad district were wiped out after a landslide hit the area in which 416 people died while 120 people still remain missing.

“It’s been two weeks since Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the affected areas and the Vijayan government is yet to come out with a memorandum as instructed by the PM Modi. Giving a temporary memorandum is not what is needed,” said Surendran.

He said that the Cabinet committee formed soon after the disaster took place seems to be not working properly as there is just one Minister (State SC/ST Minister O.R.Kelu) who working around.

“Rs 600 crores was given by the Centre in the past two years for disaster work. However, these funds have not been utilised yet. We spoke to the cabinet sub-committee and informed it that the BJP can help them, but they have not given a clear answer,” said Surendran.

He said it’s strange that the Vijayan government has not called an all-party meeting to discuss the rehabilitation programme for Wayanad.

–IANS

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