Kottayam: As Prime Minister Narendra Modi prepares to visit the landslide-affected villages of Meppady on Saturday, the residents of Wayanad are holding onto a sense of hope.
The Prime Minister's visit comes shortly after opposition leader Rahul Gandhi's appeal in the Lok Sabha to declare the Wayanad landslide a national disaster. Modi, who is scheduled to arrive at Kannur Airport on Saturday morning, will travel to Meppadi by helicopter.
The delay in visits from senior Union ministers, even a week after the Mundakkai and Chooralmala villages were ravaged by landslides, has faced widespread criticism. So far, only Union Ministers of State George Kurian and Suresh Gopi from Kerala have visited the affected areas.
The PM's upcoming visit is seen as a crucial moment for assessing whether the disaster will be classified under the L3 category, which could lead to increased central assistance.
L0, L1, L2 and L3 are different categories of disaster as defined by the National Disaster Management guidelines of 2005. According to the guidelines:
L0: Minor disasters that can be managed by local bodies.
L1: Disasters requiring district-level management.
L2: Disasters needing state-level intervention.
L3: Major disasters that necessitate central government involvement.
Although these guidelines do not specifically address the concept of a "national disaster," all eyes are now focused on whether the Wayanad tragedy will be classified as an L3 event with the Prime Minister's visit. The state government is actively pursuing this classification and has formally requested it to the Union government.
If the landslide is classified as L3, the subsequent reconstruction efforts will be part of a larger, centrally coordinated program. The state is counting on this move to offer vital support to Wayanad as it recovers from this devastating event.
