Not yet reached first village hit by the landslide: Arif Mohammed Khan

Thiruvananthapuram: Governor Arif Mohammed Khan on Thursday said that the extent to which the devastation took place in Wayanad is not known yet as rescue teams have not even reached the settlement where the first landslide was reported, NDTV reported.

Most of the bodies recovered are from a village that was struck after the Chaliyar River changed course because of the landslide, he said in an interview with the outlet, adding, ‘These bodies have been recovered from that village. But we have not been able to reach the first village which has been ravaged by the landslide.’

This village was cut off after a bridge connecting to it was washed away and the army engineering unit is working to build a Bailey bridge, he said adding it is not yet possible to assess the damage ‘because we have not been able to reach the first site affected by the landslide".

The first village struck by the landslide is a 100-year-old settlement but is not a ‘remote village’ and is part of a town area, he said.

Referring to Union Home Minister Amit Shah's claim that the Centre had sent alerts to Kerala days before the landslide, he said "Yesterday was not the time to take stock of these things. So I am not in a position to go into that issue. This is the time to share the grief of the people, to meet patients, their relatives."

Regarding rescue operations, he said "Camps have been set up. Everybody is being taken there. And this includes not only those who have been affected. The river has changed its course, it may change further. So, all those who live on the banks of this new course have also been removed."

Khan praised doctors who are working tirelessly to save those affected by the calamity.