Thiruvananthapuram: Opposition leader V D Satheesan met CM Pinarayi Vijayan on Tuesday and submitted the opposition’s suggestions and requests for Wayanad and also Vilangad in Kozhikode, where landslides occurred recently. Satheesan suggested that instead of providing individual houses and land in Wayanad, the govt should adopt a township model that enables community living with facilities for agriculture. The govt was also urged to write off all types of loans.
Crops have been destroyed, vehicles damaged, and houses washed away. The loans taken for these cannot be repaid. For the same reason, the loans from public sector banks, private banks, and cooperative banks, including educational loans, should be written off, the opposition leader told the CM.
Another suggestion was to create micro-level packages for each family. Some families have only children, others have only elderly members, and yet another category has lost their breadwinners. Therefore, govt should implement micro-level package for each family.
Since disasters are recurring, climate change must be taken into account. Scientific investigations, prone area mapping, and implementation of warning systems are required. Climate change should be a major factor when deciding development projects and during policy formulation.
Satheesan said that 24 landslides have occurred in Vilangad as per official records and the impact on the village was severe. Numerous houses were destroyed, over 150 houses became uninhabitable.