'Good decision': Rahul Gandhi thanks PM Modi for visiting Wayanad

New Delhi, Aug 10 (IANS) Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for visiting Wayanad and taking stock of the situation in the landslide-ravaged region.

Calling it a "good decision," the Congress leader, on Friday, expressed gratitude and his confidence that by inspecting the situation firsthand by the PM, this tragedy will be declared a "national disaster."

"Thank you, Modi ji, for visiting Wayanad to personally take stock of the terrible tragedy. This is a good decision. I am confident that once the Prime Minister sees the extent of the devastation firsthand, he will declare it a national disaster," Rahul Gandhi said in a post on X.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to visit landslide-struck Wayanad in Kerala on Saturday and interact with the survivors of the disaster that hit the southern state last month.

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 he arrives 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 has risen to 413, with 152 people still missing.

The announcement of PM Modi's visit came hours after Rahul Gandhi urged the Union government to declare the Wayanad landslide as a national disaster, given the devastation it has left behind.On August 1, Rahul Gandhi, along with his sister and Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, visited the landslide-affected Chooralmala area in Kerala's Wayanad.