Wayanad disaster: Cong to build 100 houses, says Rahul Gandhi

Wayanad, Aug 2 (IANS) On the second day of his visit to the landslide-affected areas in Wayanad, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi said that the Congress party will build 100 houses for the people affected by the tragedy.

He was accompanied by Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who is the Congress candidate from the constituency.

The two visited areas like Punchirimadom and Mundakayil and also went to various relief camps.

After visiting some relief camps, Rahul Gandhi said, "I have been here since yesterday. As I said yesterday, this is a terrible tragedy. We went to the site yesterday. We went to the camps, we assessed the situation there. Today, we had a meeting with the administration and the panchayat. They briefed us on the number of casualties they expect, the number of houses that have been damaged and their strategy. We have said that we are here to help in any way possible. Congress family would like to commit to building 100 plus houses here."

"I think, Kerala has not seen this type of a tragedy in one area, and I am going to raise it in Delhi and also with the chief minister here that this is a different level of tragedy and should be treated differently," added the former MP from Wayanad.

The number of dead has now reached 302 and 206 more continue to be missing. A rescue team of over 1,500 people are engaged in searching for the missing people in the worst-affected landslide areas of Churalpara, Velarimala, Mundakayil and Punchirimadom.