PM Modi to visit landslide-struck Wayanad on Aug 10

New Delhi/Thiruvananthapuram, Aug 7 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to visit landslide-struck Wayanad in Kerala on August 10 (Saturday) and interact with the survivors of the disaster that hit the southern state last month, a source said on Wednesday.

The Prime Minister is scheduled to arrive on a special flight that will land in Kannur.

From Kannur, PM Modi will conduct an aerial survey of the landslide-affected areas on a helicopter. He will then visit a few relief camps where over 10,000 people are currently sheltered.

Kerala Governor Arif Mohammad Khan and Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan are expected to accompany PM Modi after his arrival in Kannur.

The Vijayan-led state government as well as the Congress-led Opposition have been demanding that the Central government declare the disaster as a national calamity.

Meanwhile, the toll from the disaster on Wednesday rose to 413, with 152 people still missing.

The announcement of PM Modi's visit came hours after Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday urged the Union government to declare the Wayanad landslide as a national disaster given the devastation it has left behind.

"I urge the Union government to support a comprehensive rehabilitation package for Wayanad. This package must include building disaster-resilient infrastructures to help the affected communities. The Union government should also enhance the compensation that people are getting. Importantly, the Union government should declare the Wayanad landslide as a national disaster," LoP Rahul Gandhi said while addressing the Lok Sabha.

He said that there is a need for a comprehensive assistance plan from the Union to rebuild Wayanad.

On August 1, Rahul Gandhi along with his sister -- Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra -- visited the landslide-affected Chooralmala in Kerala's Wayanad.

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