Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, on Tuesday, 13 August, praised the flood-hit people of his Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency, saying the bravery and dignity displayed by them in the face of tragedy was "truly humbling."
"I left Wayanad with nothing but pride for the people I represent," Gandhi wrote on social media.
He left Kerala on Tuesday morning after winding up his two-day visit to Wayanad ravaged by floods and landslides.
"The display of bravery and dignity in the face of immense tragedy is truly humbling. It is such an honour and pleasure to be your MP. Thank you Kerala," he wrote.
Gandhi had visited flood-hit areas including worst-hit Puthumala in Wayanad district and Kavalappara near Nilambur in Malappuram district.
At Puthumala and Kavalappara, where landslides wrecked havoc last week, many people are still feared to be trapped beneath the debris.
Rahul Writes to PM, Seeks Early Warning Systems for Flood-Hit Wayanad
Gandhi, on Tuesday, wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, suggesting that many lives can be saved if early warning systems are installed to alert people living in vulnerable areas in the ecologically sensitive hill district.
"Developing a long term strategy and an action plan supported through a special package of assistance to protect both the life and livelihood of people and environment in Wayanad to be taken up on priority," Gandhi wrote.
“Many lives can be saved if early warning systems are installed to alert populations in vulnerable areas and specially designed landslide/flood shelters with communication facilities are provided in such places.”Rahul Gandhi in a letter to PM Modi
He said the destruction of forests and the depletion of inflow into the streams and rivers endanger farms and populations in three states- Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
"I would like to highlight the twin crisis one that affects the life and livelihood of people in Wayanad and the second, the critical status of the ecology in an area that is known as a global hotspot for biodiversity with the potential to contribute to carbon sequestration benefiting the country as a whole."
Highlighting the crisis in the agricultural sector in Wayanad, Gandhi said a large number of farmers have killed themselves in the last two decades due to crisis in the farm sector.
Gandhi had tweeted on Friday that he spoke to Modi on the flood situation in Kerala and sought assistance for those affected in the State, including in his constituency Wayanad.
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