Wayanad, Kerala: Tensions rose in Chooralmala, on Sunday morning, as police prevented protesters from marching condemning the alleged delay in giving rehabilitation to survivors of the July 2024 Wayanad landslides.
By 9 a.m., protestors had begun erecting makeshift huts in the area affected by the landslip. Later, a march was blocked by the police team near the Bailey Bridge in Chooralmala, according to the visuals of TV channels.
The protest is being organised under the leadership of the Jana Shabdam Action Committee.
However, the police have not allowed the protest in the landslide-affected area leading to verbal duels between the protesters and police.
Meanwhile, the People's Action Committee (Janakeeya Action Samiti) has announced a hunger strike in front of the Wayanad District Collectorate on Monday.
The protestors are demanding faster rehabilitation and a comprehensive relief package from the central government, above the 5 cents of land allotted to them.
The protesters are staging a sit-in protest, according to the TV channels, PTI reported.p
The second draft list for the Chooralmala Mundakkai landslide rehabilitation released by the state government has the names of 81 families. With this, the total number of families on the rehabilitation list has risen to 323.
Authorities have published the list of people whose houses in the disaster-hit area have been deemed uninhabitable. The draft list was finalised by Saturday midnight after the survivors declared a protest. In the first phase, a list of 242 families had been released.
The Kerala government approved a comprehensive rehabilitation project for survivors of the devastating landslides earlier.
The project involves setting up two townships to provide a safe and sustainable living environment for those affected by the disaster.
The landslides that struck Mundakkai and Chooralmala regions of Wayanad on July 30 last year left over 200 people dead and many others injured, nearly wiping out both areas.