Tejasvi Surya Calls Wayanad Landslide a "Man-Made Disaster"

By A Staff Reporter

Wayanad: BJP MP Tejasvi Surya has described the Wayanad landslide as a "man-made disaster" rather than a natural one, attributing the cause to illegal settlements and vote bank politics. "What has happened in Wayanad is not a natural disaster. It is a man-made disaster. I am not saying this, ecological experts from Kerala are saying this," Surya stated.

Surya highlighted that 60% of landslides in the country over the last 5-6 years have occurred in Kerala. He cited the 2020 Disaster Management Authority of Kerala's recommendation to the state government to remove 4,000 families from illegal settlements on the Eastern Slope of the Western Ghats of Wayanad. "Rahul Gandhi never raised any questions about it," he said, criticizing the MP for Wayanad.

Surya further accused the Kerala government of allowing commercialization activities in the Western Ghats, which he claims are destabilizing the region's ecological balance. He asserted that the failure to evacuate illegal encroachments is due to political pressure and vote bank politics, emphasizing that even the Forest Minister acknowledged this issue in the Kerala Assembly in 2021.