Kannur, Aug 10 (IANS): Prime Minister Narendra Modi landed at Kannur airport in Kerala, on Saturday morning. He is heading to landslide-ravaged Wayanad.
The disaster took place on July 30 which left 416 dead and over 150 missing.
He is being accompanied by Union Minister of State for Tourism, actor-turned-politician Suresh Gopi, the lone BJP candidate to win from Kerala.
Modi was received at the airport by Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and top Central and state government officials.
Soon after that, PM Modi, along with others, left for Wayanad on a helicopter which will land at Kalpetta.
Before touching down at Kalpetta, Modi will conduct an aerial inspection of the landslide-ravaged four villages in Kalpetta.
At Wayanad, Modi will visit patients at the hospitals and a few relief camps where over 10,700 people hit by the landslides are sheltered.
After that, Modi will chair a review meeting where Khan, Vijayan and other officials will take part.
Following this, the Prime Minister will return to Kannur airport by around 3.30 p.m. and then depart for New Delhi.
PM Modi’s visit comes at a time when his government took stock of the situation and immediately sprung into action through the deployment of more than 1,200 rescuers of NDRF, Army, Air Force, Navy, Fire services, Civil Defence, among others for rescue and relief operation.
More than 100 ambulances, along with doctors, and other medical staff were deployed for medical support and treatment.
The Indian Army erected a 190-foot Bailey bridge in Wayanad, which has been crucial in facilitating the movement of heavy machinery and ambulances.
Remarkably, construction of this bridge was completed in just 71 hours, significantly enhancing the rescue operations by allowing heavy vehicles and machinery to be mobilised to rescue around 200 people who were stranded due to damage to the bridge.
Apart from that, an Inter-Ministerial Central Team (IMCT) has been constituted by the Central Government to visit the affected areas of the state.
The team has been in Wayanad for the past two days and will complete their visit on Saturday.