Rehabilitation package for plantation workers soon

The Kerala government on Wednesday decided to implement a comprehensive rehabilitation package for the families of plantation workers who died in landslide at Pettimudi in Rajamala village of Idukki district even as three more bodies were recovered from the site taking the toll in the incident to 54.

The Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan here directed the Idukki collector to prepare a detailed report on the incident and the plight of plantation workers in estates.

The government will formulate a detailed rehabilitation package based on the findings and recommendations of the report.

This newspaper on Wednesday had reported about the deplorable conditions in which plantation workers are living in Kerala, especially in Idukki district.

The Cabinet decided to bear the entire cost of the treatment of those injured in the landslide. The government said the priority at this stage was on rescue operations since 17 are still feared trapped in the debris. Governor Arif

Mohammad Khan and Chief Minister are scheduled to visit Pettimudi on Thursday to meet the families of the victims and meet officials carrying out rescue operations in the area.

The Chief Minister and his Cabinet colleagues had drawn flak from the Opposition Congress and various other quarters for failing to visit the accident site immediately after the tragedy.

The bodies of ten children between the age group of six months and 14 years have been retrieved by the NDRF and other rescue personnel from the Pettimudi tragedy site.