Rajya Sabha discusses Wayanad tragedy, MPs call for declaring it 'national disaster'

New Delhi, July 30 (IANS) Several Opposition Rajya Sabha MPs raised the Wayanad tragedy in the House on Tuesday and demanded that it be declared a national disaster. 

The demands were raised by Kerala MPs after at least 44 people were killed and over 400 families were isolated in a massive landslide at Churalpara in Kerala's Wayanad at around 2 A.M. on Tuesday.

Kerala CPI(M) MP, John Brittas, demanded that the central disaster management forces be deployed in Kerala "immediately" to carry out rescue and relief work.

The MPs said that more than 500 families were trapped due to the landslides, the bodies of some victims were being retrieved far from their homes, and in some cases entire families have been wiped out.

The MPs also demanded financial aid of Rs 5,000 crore and called on the Rajya Sabha Chairman to declare the incident a national disaster.

During a discussion in the Rajya Sabha, members expressed their condolences and urged the government to provide full support to the affected area.

Acknowledging the gravity of the situation, Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar said, "The whole House in one voice is with them. The entire country has converged all agencies to help out the people in distress. The PM and CM, everyone is alert and engaged in the activity."

Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, said, "I don't have complete information about the incident. I only learnt about the incident through newspaper reports and phone calls with the authorities. Many people have been killed due to the landslide. Because the incident happened in the night, no one was aware of how many people were killed."

He urged the Vice President to ask the government to answer the Opposition's questions about the “forces deployed there, financial help provided and rescue operations that are taking place."

However, dismissing the LoP's request for a Kerala Congress MP to be allowed to speak on the issue, Dhankhar said, "We express our condolences and our solidarity…Any disaster in any part of the country is of grave importance to us… I cannot confine tragedy to one state."

Responding to the concerns, Leader of the House, JP Nadda, emphasised nationwide empathy for the tragedy and said that the "entire country is pained" by the incident.

He assured that the Government of India, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is "taking all necessary steps for the rescue operations."

"Our concerns are understandable, but a standard procedure is followed in incidents like these. Our central agencies have reached the spot to carry out the rescue operations in coordination with the state government," the Union Minister added.

Nadda further said that the government under the leadership of PM Modi is "proactive and pro-responsive" and that the agitation of Kerala MPs is understandable, but "we have to translate it into action."

Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju also addressed allegations that the Centre was not releasing funds, asserting that this was "not the time to play politics."

Rijiju clarified that funds were provided in advance under the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF), a collaborative resource of the state and central governments for natural disasters.

He assured that all available rescue forces, including the NDRF, SDRF, Indian Army, and Air Force, have been mobilised.

Rijiju concluded by promising a detailed report from the Home Ministry "if requested by the House," stressing the government's "proactive and coordinated response" to the crisis.