Ayyappan, a survivor of the devastating landslides that swept through Mundakkai in Wayanad, is left with nothing -- no home, no family and no future. But a chance meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a relief camp on Saturday has rekindled a glimmer of hope for the elderly person, who lost nine relatives in the disaster and is now pinning his hopes on securing a new shelter.
“Twelve of us from the camp met the PM. There were children too. There was a person who was translating everything. I just asked for a home. He assured all help,” Mr. Ayyappan told reporters.
Mr. Modi, who visited the landslides-hit areas, met select inmates in relief camps and doctors and enquired about the condition of the patients.
Mr. Ayyappan, who interacted with Mr. Modi, said that he explained everything to the Prime Minister.
“I told him that nine members of my family were lost. We lost our land, but land is not the issue -- I lost my family,” Mr. Ayyappan said.
“The PM held my shoulders when I narrated my losses,” he said.
Mr. Ayyapan also said he was clueless about what to do after leaving the camp as his house was gone in the landslides.
Meanwhile, Charlie, who was part of the medical team that met the Prime Minister, apprised him about the condition of the camp inmates and the psychological and traumatic issues they face.
“He enquired about the condition of the inmates, the number of recoveries, the advanced treatment, and the issues faced by the inmates,” Dr. Charlie said.
The inmates have nightmares over the disaster, he added.
Earlier in the day, Modi trekked through the disaster-hit Chooralmala to get a first-hand view of the destruction caused by the July 30 landslides.
The Prime Minister also conducted an aerial survey of the landslide-ravaged areas of the Chooralmala, Mundakkai and Punchirimattam hamlets aboard an Indian Air Force helicopter. He was accompanied by Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Union Minister Suresh Gopi.
As many as 226 people have lost their lives and over 130 remain missing in one of the worst calamities to have struck Kerala.
