Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan to chair all-party meeting in landslide-hit Wayanad

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will preside over an allparty meeting in Wayanad on Thursday as search and rescue efforts continue in the landslideaffected areas The district government says the conference will include state ministries local MLAs and political party leadersRahul Gandhi Congress leader and former Wayanad MP and his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra are also likely to visit the devastated areas relief centres according to the party reported PTIAccording to the news agency report as of Wednesday night the death toll of Wayanad landslide stood at 167 with 191 people missing and more than 200 injured The district government said that 100 of the deceased had been identifiedRescue operations entered their third day with teams from the army navy and Coast Guard conducting detailed searches in Attamala Mundakkai and Chooralmala Each team is accompanied by a dog squad according to a statement the report addedEfforts to construct a bailey bridge to connect the affected areas are underway as shown in TV visualsThe landslides triggered by torrential rains hit the hamlets of Mundakkai Chooralmala Attamala and Noolpuzha early on Tuesday resulting in significant loss of life including women and childrenMilitary intensifies rescue operations in Wayanad landslideMeanwhile military soldiers stepped up search and rescue operations in Keralas Wayanad district on Wednesday where landslides had killed over 160 people The Army said it recovered more than 80 bodies and rescued roughly 1000 people The Army has created a Command and Control Centre in Kozhikode led by Maj Gen VT Mathew General Officer Commanding Karnataka and Kerala Sub Area and Brig Arjun Segan to coordinate humanitarian assistance and disaster relief HADR effortsBrig Segan made an early inspection of the impacted areas on Wednesday directing Army columns for future rescue operations Troops are conducting rescue operations over a sixkilometre stretch of the landslideaffected areaRescue teams were dispatched from Kannur Kozhikode and Thiruvananthapuram The initial responders were two columns from the Defence Security Corps DSC Centre in Kannur and the 122 Infantry Battalion Territorial Army Madras in Kozhikode each with 225 troops They teamed up with the National Disaster Response Force NDRF and other agenciesTwo further HADR columns including two medical teams totalling 135 troops were flown from Thiruvananthapuram to Kozhikode by AN32 and C130 aircraft The Armys Engineer Task Force from Madras Engineer Group and Centre MEG amp Centre consisting of 123 people a set of 150foot Bailey bridges three earthmovers and other support equipment has been dispatched to the affected areaConstruction of a bridge on the MeepadiChoormala Road is begun with earthmoving equipment being airlifted across the creek A footbridge was built overnight on July 30A C17 aeroplane carrying a 110foot Bailey bridge from the Engineers Stores Depot in Delhi Cantonment has landed in Kannur accompanied by three search and rescue dog teams Additional resource requirements are being analysed based on aircraft and ground reconnaissance as well as civil administration demandsIndian Air Force IAF helicopters have flown numerous sorties dropping food and other humanitarian supplies Air Marshal A P Singh Vice Chief of the Air Staff indicated that operations would continue despite weather problemsThe Army announced a successful evacuation of residents from cutoff areas Naval aviation assets have provided transportation for State Disaster Response Force SDRF and government officials Multiple aircraft are on standby at Thiruvananthapuram Sulur and Thanjavur to provide swift air rescue responseIn addition to medical aid the ECHS Polyclinic in Kalpetta is offering doctors nursing assistants and ambulances to help with flood operations Despite the poor weather conditions caused by persistent rain all efforts are directed towards providing immediate aid and support to those affected by the calamitywith PTI inputs