KALPETTA: Revenue Minister K Rajan said on Saturday that the schools in Meppadi which were functioning as relief camps— Meppadi GLPS and Meppadi GHSS— following the Chooralmala and Mundakkai landslides will be reopened and classes will begin from Tuesday, August 27. Hundreds of families were housed in the schools since the July 30 landslide. As a part of temporary rehabilitation, the entire disaster- affected families will be relocated by Sunday.
“All disaster-related activities, from rescue operations to temporary rehabilitation, were made possible by August 25 with the cooperation of Kalpetta MLA, district panchayat president, district administration, Meppadi panchayat officials, local residents and voluntary organisations,” said Minister K Rajan.
Vellarmala GVHSS will start classes at Meppadi GHSS and Mundakkai GLPS classes at Meppadi APJ Hall on September 2. A special school reopening celebration will be held on September 2 to create a welcoming and comfortable study environment for the disaster- affected children. Three KSRTC buses will operate as ‘students-only’ to transport children from Chooralmala to Meppadi school.
Detailed report given to Centre
Rajan said that a detailed report was submitted to the Union government on August 18 regarding the landslides. It is hoped that the Centre will sympathetically consider the demands of the state government. “The Wayanad disaster cannot be dealt with only using the State Disaster Response Fund. In matters related to permanent resettlement, a decision will be taken in consultation with the Leader of the Opposition and the Deputy Leader of the Opposition,” Rajan added.
Micro planning: Collector announces completion of survey
Wayanad Collector D R Meghasree said on Saturday that with the help of Kudumbashree members, all necessary information for rehabilitation has been collected considering the socio-economic education-work-health conditions of each family and individual in relation to the landslides. She appreciated the officials, people’s representatives and volunteers who worked round the clock for the temporary rehabilitation of entire families in the relief camps. “A micro-plan can be used to determine what each individual can do in their current living environment until permanent rehabilitation is carried out. For this, the information of each family available with various departments will be analysed and the matters to be done urgently will be formulated by each department. Information on lost land will also be collected. The data bank will be expanded to include information regarding occupation, health condition and education, and details of persons included in the agricultural, industrial and service sectors,” the collector added.