Wayanad landslides: NSS volunteers to construct houses for 150 affected families

This will be in addition to the cleanliness drive being undertaken in the camps where hundreds of landslide victims have taken shelter.

A damaged house stands amid the debris at the debris at the landslide- hit Mundakkai in Wayanad. (Photo | A Sanesh, EPS)

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In a major initiative by the state’s campuses for relief and rehabilitation of Wayanad landslide victims, the National Service Scheme (NSS) units under the Higher Education Department will build houses for 150 families who have lost their dwellings in the worst-hit areas.

Higher Education Minister R Bindu announced this on Friday. NSS volunteers have already made a mark through the ‘Snehapoorvam’ project to build houses for homeless schoolmates.

This model will be replicated for the landslide victims. The construction of the houses will be carried out through the coordinated efforts of various cells of NSS. State officers of the NSS and former programme coordinators will join hands as part of the project, the minister said.

NSS cells, in institutions affiliated to Kerala, Calicut, Kannur and MG universities, APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University, Kerala University of Health Sciences and Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit, will be a part of the initiative. Joining them will be NSS volunteers in Higher Secondary, Vocational Higher Secondary schools and Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) and polytechnic colleges.

As part of mitigating the mental trauma of landslide victims, the NSS will carry out counselling sessions led by experts. As the tragedy has disrupted the education of school and college going children, special efforts will be undertaken to resume their studies. ‘Back to School’ and ‘Back to College’ campaigns will be undertaken for students residing in relief camps.

Meanwhile, the NSS team of Kerala University of Health Sciences will ensure the services of medical personnel at the relief camps. This will be in addition to the cleanliness drive being undertaken in the camps where hundreds of landslide victims have taken shelter.

Contributing their might towards the rebuilding efforts, NSS units in engineering colleges, polytechnic colleges and ITIs will repair household appliances and furniture damaged in the landslide and also carry out electrical and plumbing works of damaged houses.

NCC’S MISSION WAYANAD

Scores of National Cadet Corps (NCC) cadets from various campuses across the state are already deployed in the disaster zone. The youths are assisting the rescue teams in the worst-hit areas. The V Kerala Battalion of NCC and military offices attached to it are also rendering services in hospitals, food packing centres and relief camps.