Wayanad landslides: Kerala Opposition Leader calls on CM, seeks total loan waiver for victims

Kerala's Opposition Leader seeks loan waivers, fair compensation, and modern disaster prevention measures for landslide victims in Wayanad.

Kerala’s Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan called on Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan at the latter’s office at the Government Secretariat on Tuesday (August 13, 2024) and sought a total loan waiver for families and individuals displaced by the catastrophic landslides in Wayanad. 

Mr. Satheesan said the government should urge public and private sector banks to offer permanent deferrals on loan repayments.

Mr. Satheesan proposed bipartisan legislation to formulate a new law guaranteeing fair compensation and rehabilitation for victims of natural disasters. 

Expressing support for the government’s rehabilitation programme for Wayanad district, Mr. Satheesan said the Opposition would construct 100 houses at the proposed township for the landslide victims. 

“The government should provide arable land to those who lost their farms to the landslides. It should reskill displaced families and individuals so they could become financially self-reliant and self-employed,” he added. 

He urged Mr. Vijayan to invest in modern artificial intelligence-powered rain and seismic sensor networks to set up a modern weather prediction system with a reduced margin of error, which would save lives and property.

Mr. Satheesan said Odisha had used such a model to prevent deaths caused by recurring cyclones. Manipur relied on a state-of-the-art earthquake warning system to move people out of danger zones before disaster struck.