Shashi Tharoor urges Amit Shah to declare Kerala landslides as 'Calamity of Severe Nature'

New Delhi, Aug 1 : Congress leader and Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor has urged Union Home Minister Amit Shah to declare the landslides in Kerala's Wayanad district as a 'Calamity of Serious Nature'.

Declaring it a calamity of a severe nature will allow MPs to recommend works up to Rs 1 crore from their MPLAD funds for the affected areas, Tharoor, who is also Chairman of Chemicals and Fertisliser Committee of Parliament, said in a letter to the Home Minister on Wednesday.

He said that the said move will surely be invaluable in supporting the painstaking efforts for rescue, relief and rehabilitation.

A series of devastating landslides struck the Wayanad district of Kerala, claiming over hundred lives and leaving many more severely injured in hospitals, his letter read.

He said, "This disaster of unimaginable proportions has left behind a harrowing tale of death and destruction. The rescue operations involving the armed forces, the Coast Guard, the National Disaster Response Force and other agencies continue their pitched battle against the vagaries of nature.

"The landslides have wreaked havoc upon countless lives and as such, it is of grave importance to extend all possible support to the people of Wayanad. Such is the scale of the disaster that it necessitates a coordinated and generous response from all sections of the society," the Thiruvananthapuram MP said.

The death toll in the Wayanad landslide tragedy has reached 264 while around 200 people are still missing, officials said.