Felt Like I Lost My Dad Again, Says Rahul Gandhi

The toll in the triple landslides that struck Mundakkai, Meppadi and Chooralmala in Kerala’s Wayanad went up to 282 on Thursday and now the focus will be on retrieving the bodies of 240-plus people reported missing.

- Shankar Raj

Rescuers said chances of finding any more survivors of the July 30 landslides are slim and efforts would be on moving heavy equipment to search for those buried deep in the slush. The Army on Thursday successfully established connectivity between Mundakkai and Chooralmala by commissioning a Bailey’s Bridge amid heavy downpour.

Meanwhile, there is growing fear of a breakout of contagious disease in the thickly packed relief camps, health officials said. Amid the downpour, leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and Congress candidate from Wayanad Priyanka Gandhi Vadra visited the site of the disaster.

Talking to the media, Rahul said he felt the pain of the tragedy. “This is similar to what happened to me when I lost my father. But here in Wayanad, it is much more as people have lost their entire families. This is not just the tragedy of a Wayanad or Ke r ala, but the whole nation. I am not here to discuss politics or blame anyone. My focus is to bring relief to those who have lost beloved ones,” he said.