Thiruvananthapuram: The state govt has requested the Centre to declare the Wayanad landslide as a “national or severe disaster”, based on which the ministry of home affairs (MHA) has appointed a nine-member committee to assess its severity and submit a report, chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan said here on Thursday. He said the committee chairman — joint secretary in MHA Rajeev Kumar — visited him on Thursday. “Our demand is for a comprehensive rehabilitation package, to which the Centre has responded favourably so far,” he said.

Meanwhile, the official death toll in the disaster went up to 226, with the recovery of one more body and a body part from the Chaliyar river. A total of 196 body parts have been recovered so far. We also published the following articles recently Kerala landslide horror: Once a source of life, Chaliyar River now graveyard of Wayanad's disaster Landslides in Wayanad caused tragic consequences for the Chaliyar River in Kerala.

Recovery operations involving various agencies have retrieved 73 bodies and 132 body parts from the river. The search continues along a 40-km stretch. Efforts include the deployment of hundreds of personnel from multiple forces to assist in the disaster-struck areas.

Wayanad landslides: 215 bodies recovered, 206 people still missing, rescue ops in final stage, says Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan confirmed that 215 bodies were recovered in Wayanad following landslides, with 206 people s.