Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) [India]: Congress MP Shashi Tharoor has voiced his support for Priyanka Gandhi’s call to convert the central government’s Wayanad landslide relief funds from a loan into a grant and to extend the spending deadline for affected communities.
Strongly support the request from @priyankagandhi to convert the government’s Wayanad landslide relief from a loan to a grant, and to extend the deadline to spend it: https://t.co/bW8Wuzk6Wq
— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) February 25, 2025
The victims of Kerala’s worst disaster deserve no less!
Taking to social media platform X, Tharoor wrote, “Strongly support the request from Priyanka Gandhi to convert the government’s Wayanad landslide relief from a loan to a grant, and to extend the deadline to spend it. The victims of Kerala’s worst disaster deserve no less!”
This follows a letter from Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging immediate and unconditional financial assistance for the victims of the landslide that struck Chooralmala and Mundakkai on July 30, 2024.
She criticized the relief package of ₹529.50 crore as inadequate and condemned the conditions attached—specifically that the funds would be provided as a loan rather than a grant and must be utilized by March 31, 2025.
“These conditions are not only immensely unfair but also display a shocking lack of sensitivity towards the people of Chooralmala and Mundakkai who have suffered such shattering losses,” she wrote.
Highlighting the severe loss of lives, livelihoods, and infrastructure, Priyanka Gandhi emphasized that six months after the tragedy, survivors are still struggling to rebuild their lives. She called for an urgent reconsideration of the financial assistance terms to provide meaningful support to those affected.