Kerala: Death toll from landslide in Idukki rises to 52

Idukki: The death toll in the Rajmala landslide in Idukki has risen to 52, with three bodies and deaths. The district collector confirmed the total deaths from ANI this morning. The District Information Office said that two NDRF teams, an entire unit of Idukki fire and rescue teams, a team from Kottayam, Thiruvananthapuram and a team receiving specialized training are leading the rescue operation at Rajmala in Idukki. At the same time, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Friday announced an ex-gratia amount of Rs 5 lakh to the families of the deceased.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi also mourned the deaths due to landslides and announced an ex-gratia amount of Rs 2 lakh from the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund (PMNRF) to the families of the deceased. Heavy rains in many parts of Kerala led to floods and landslides, which have caused havoc in the region in the last few days.

Former Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy had said that there have been many natural disasters in Kerala but these landslides are more serious than them. The government should reconsider its declaration of giving Rs 5 lakh to the family of the deceased and increase the amount.

Significantly, there was a landslide in Rajamalai in Idukki district due to heavy rains on Friday. During this time 15 people were safely evacuated and 60 people were buried under debris. In this landslide-hit mountainous region, most of the T-Estates have workers. The landslide incident is said to have occurred in the morning when a large piece of earth fell from the mountains on the queued houses, killing the people sleeping in the houses. Most of the people working in the tea estate were from the neighboring state of Tamil Nadu.