KALPETTA: For the families who lost their homes, land, and loved ones in the Mundakkai-Chooralmala landslide, the Union government’s latest relief package feels less like help and more like betrayal. Against the state’s plea for Rs 2,221 crore to rebuild shattered lives, the Centre has sanctioned a paltry Rs 250.56 crore – a move that survivors call a “mockery” of their suffering and political leaders denounce as deliberate neglect.
“We lost everything in one night — our homes, our families, our land. The prime minister promised us that rehabilitation would never stall because of money. But today we are drowning in debt, and this relief is meaningless,” said Naseer Alackal, chairman of the Janashabdham survivors’ committee in Mundakkai.
He pointed out that the money earmarked for reconstruction has no practical use since no one can return to the unsafe landslide-hit area. “What we need is help to rebuild our livelihoods, not funds tied to land we can never step back into,” he said.
Across Wayanad, anger simmers as survivors struggle through their second year of displacement. Families are still in rented houses, farmers who lost fields have no means of income, and children are studying in temporary schools. “We waited for a year, believing promises. But what we got is not aid – it is a cruel joke,” said Firshad, who lost five family members.
Political leaders, too, lashed out at the Centre. Revenue Minister K Rajan accused the government of deliberately downplaying the scale of the tragedy.
“They sat on the L3 categorisation for five months, refused to release even a rupee when we submitted a Rs 1,222-crore loss report, and now project this meagre allocation as generosity. This is not relief – it is neglect,” the minister said.
Kalpetta MLA T Siddique was harsher, branding the prime minister’s visit to the disaster zone a “photo shoot.” “The fears of Wayanad’s people have come true. The Centre has shown no human consideration. This is pure political discrimination against Kerala,” he said.
For the survivors, politics is secondary to survival. “Our loans are unpaid, our livelihoods are gone, and our children are growing up in uncertainty,” Naseer said. “We don’t want sympathy – we want justice.”
