KALPETTA: Data collection on the financial liabilities of the July 30 Chooralmala-Mundakkai landslide victims is nearing completion. As per the preliminary conclusion, loans worth Rs 35.5 crore had been taken by the victims. Information about customers is being collected from various banks under the drive. Wayanad Lead Bank Manager Muraleedharan said complete information can be collected and forwarded to the state level committee and the district administration by Saturday.
“We have received data from almost all the banks in Wayanad. Only Kerala Gramin Bank, which has the highest number of customers in the district, is left. The district administration forwarded the list of the landslide victims. It contains 3,000 names, and includes people who died, those who are missing as well as the affected persons in wards 10,11 and 12 of Meppadi panchayat,” Muraleedharan said, adding that right now, the banks are verifying the names with their customers’ list. “We will be able to send the final list by Saturday,” he said.
Kerala Gramin Bank and Kerala Bank, which had branches in Chooralmala, had higher liabilities than other banks. As per the preliminary information, Kerala Gramin Bank issued loans totalling Rs 15.5 crore to victims in the three wards. Kerala Bank officials said they issued loans totalling `5 crore to the affected persons. The authorities said the amount is likely to increase as other than the Chooralmala branch of the banks, many had taken loans from their Meppadi, Muttil, Vythiri and Kalpetta branches.
Meanwhile, temporary rehabilitation of the victims from Chooralmala and Mundakkai will be completed within August 27. Of the 794 affected families, less than 15 remain in four relief camps. After the list of temporary resettlement centres is published, accommodation is prepared considering the families’ needs.
A help-desk has been set up to contact those who moved out of the camps and make preparations as per their needs. Officials will ensure that kits containing household items and essentials are made available to them. A team led by Chief Secretary V Venu visited the areas affected by the landslides on Friday, including those who have shifted to rented homes.
NONE SURVIVED FROM 17 FAMILIES, GOVT TELLS HC
Kochi: The Wayanad landslides completely wiped out 17 families residing in Chooralmala and Mundakkai, even as 119 people remain missing. Out of the deceased, the next of kin of five have not been found. The government furnished the gloomy details of the tragedy in the Kerala High Court in response to a suo motu case and a public interest litigation alleging inaction and oversight by authorities with respect to the ecological degradation and unregulated development and mining in Kerala. The government said as of August 22, 231 bodies had been recovered and as estimated on August 17, 119 people are missing. Of the 231 bodies, 178 were handed over to relatives, while the remaining 53 bodies that are unidentified were buried by the district administration, said the government, adding that 2,123 body parts were recovered, of which 203 were buried. The government said it has sought the support of the National Disaster Management Authority for conducting a Post Disaster Need Assessment (PDNA) in Wayanad. The PDNA team will begin assessment on August 26.
