Vadakara MP Shafi Parambil and DCC president K. Praveenkumar interacting with residents of Vilangad during a protest meeting, outside the Kozhikode district collectorate on January 22.
| Photo Credit: K. Ragesh

The Congress and the United Democratic Front (UDF) will not wait anymore for government approval to start construction of houses for the landslip-hit residents of Vilangad in Kozhikode district, Vadakara MP Shafi Parambil has said.

Opening a get-together of families affected by the landslips on July 30 last year, near the collectorate here on Wednesday (January 22), he claimed that the State government had not even bothered to find alternative locations to rehabilitate the survivors. “The government has completely ignored Vilangad residents, though the magnitude of the natural calamity that hit the village was equal to that of what happened at Mundakkai and Chooralmala in Wayanad on the same day. We had declared our willingness to construct houses for 20 families. The Indian Union Muslim League has also promised to help the survivors. However, the government did not even bother to hold talks for the purpose,” Mr. Parambil alleged. He said the Congress and the UDF would now operate independently and the foundation stone for the first house for survivors in Vilangad would be laid within a month.

The Congress leader urged the government to provide a special financial package for the survivors and conduct a study on the habitability of landslip-affected areas. “Most roads and bridges there are in poor condition and the residents should be shifted to safer locations,” he added. The event was organised by the Kozhikode district Congress committee (DCC).