Prepared to give more assistance to Kerala: M K Stalin

Chennai: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Wednesday said that the state is fully prepared to give more assistance to Kerala in the wake of the devastation caused by the landslide in Wayanad.

“I again spoke to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and assured him of more assistance to tackle the situation arising out of the Wayanad landslide, which has led to the loss of several lives,” the Chief Minister said.

He said that the Kerala Chief Minister has informed him that due to the enormity of the devastation, the government is unable to assess the extent of the damage.

“Tamil Nadu government has already deployed a team led by two IAS officers and provided an assistance of Rs 5 crore,” the Chief Minister told media persons in Kolathur.

Stalin was in Kolathur to distribute assistance to the people of his constituency.

When asked about the casteist remarks made against Leader of the Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi, Stalin said this is not the 'time to talk about such issues'.

On Tuesday, massive landslides occurred at Churalpara in Kerala's Wayanad at around 2 a.m.

The area was cut off, but the local people and a team of rescuers were engaged in locating the missing people in the area, which had been ripped into two.

The death toll has touched 184 while 225 people are reported missing while around 7,000 people have been housed in around 50 relief camps.