I would like to inform the House that it has been one year since a terrible natural disaster struck Wayanad, resulting in the loss of hundreds of lives and the wipeout of 17 whole families. 1600 buildings were destroyed in the Wayanad landslide, and hundreds of acres of land and crops were destroyed, affecting the livelihoods of farmers and businesses.

It’s been one year, and I’m sorry to say that the affected people have not been able to rehabilitate properly due to the lack of support and funding from the Centre. For one year, we’ve been requesting the release of funds for Wayanad. Some funds were released, but they were insufficient and given as loans, which is unprecedented. People have lost their lives and entire livelihoods, and we expect them to repay loans while rebuilding their lives?

We requested that it be declared a national disaster, which wasn’t done initially, but it was finally designated as a disaster of a severe nature. However, this hasn’t been enough, as the victims’ families are still struggling one year later. It’s my honest and heartfelt request on behalf of the people of Wayanad that the Central Government considers waiving these loans, which are a small amount for the Centre.

Congress General Secretary & Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi