Wayanad landslide survivors get new homes as Kerala CM inaugurates township

KErala chief government minister Pinarayi Vijayan on sun inaugurated the number one stage of the rehabilitation of the landslip survivors of Chooralmala-Mundakkai, handing over homes built as part of the township to 178 families and promising to rehabilitate the others before the start of the southwest monsoon in June.At the function held in Kalpetta, the district headquarters of Wayanad, the chief minister termed the township built at the Elstone estate with all basic facilities a “testament to Kerala’s resolve to build back better.” He also handed over land deeds to several beneficiaries at the event.The township project, comprising of anganwadis, primary health centre, community market and children’s recreation area, is set to feature 410 single-storey homes on seven cents of land each. The work, contracted to Uralungal Labour Contract Cooperative Society, is scheduled for completion by June. The 1000 sqft homes have a master bedroom, two additional rooms, kitchen, dining hall and storage area with basic interior works.A total of 402 families comprising of 1662 people will reside in the township upon completion.“As we hand over homes to these families, we must remember that our efforts were not easy at all. In one night, the disaster had wiped away an entire region. This was a situation which every state would hate to be in. That’s where we started. We cannot eliminate the pains of our minds with medicine. But we can comfort each other in that pain.” said CM Vijayan.The chief minister recounted the challenges that the state government faced in taking the rehabilitation township project forward and completing it within record time.“There was false propaganda, denial of assistance from the Union government, from misleading the disaster victims to legal hurdles. There were even calls not to donate a single penny to the disaster relief fund. Some media platforms also tried to denigrate the rehabilitation effort,” he alleged.The chief minister underlined that the intention of the State government was not just to build homes for the survivors, but to ensure better living conditions for them in the future.“That’s the guiding principle of ‘build back better’ that we followed. Along with homes, we have ensured to include football ground, community hall, disaster shelter, shops, waste collection facilities, 10 sewage treatment plants and 2 KW solar plants for each home. There are green spaces in front of each cluster of homes,” he said.The Kerala model of compassion and solidarity, where people rise above differences to support one another, has again drawn global attention, CM Vijayan said.Over 250 people were killed on July 30, 2024, in a series of landslides in Wayanad’s Mundakkai-Chooralmala villages. Dozens of people were injured and thousands were displaced. Experts concluded that the landslide was triggered by heavy monsoon rainfall in the hills above the village in the days preceding the disaster.