In a major feat, the Madras Engineers Group of the Indian Army built a 190-foot-long bridge amid the Wayanad landslide tragedy in just 16 hours to speed up the relief work. The bridge, which has a capacity of 24 tons, has been built under the supervision and efforts of Major Seeta in Wayanad.
After the landslides severely affected Wayanad, the connectivity to various areas was completely lost hence there was a need to reach out to these areas to continue with the rescue and relief operation. Accordingly, the Madras Engineers Group started building a bridge on July 31 at 9 pm. Within 16 hours i.e., at 5:30 pm on August 1, the bridge was completed.
Notably, torrential rains wreaked havoc in Kerala's Wayanad as it triggered a massive landslide, which left around 200 dead. After the landslide hit the southern state district, a rescue and relief operation was initiated. The teams of NDRF, Indian Army, IAF, Navy and Coast Guards also swung into action.
IMD issues Orange alert for Wayanad
The situation remains grim as several individuals have been still missing. Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan has stated that rescuing the affected is the top priority currently. Meanwhile, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued an orange alert in the Wayanad district till Saturday.
IMD Kerala director, Neetha K Gopal said that there will be rain, but in between there can be some clear spells, which will also give relief to the rescue operators.
"We have issued an orange alert in 4 northern districts of Kerala including Wayanad. In the south till up to Pathanamthitta, we have issued a yellow alert also. From tomorrow there will considerable reduction in rainfall activity. So the yellow alerts are being confirmed only to the northern districts of Kerala. And then from Sunday there will be a reduction and we will be experiencing only light to moderate rain thereafter for another four days," she said.
(With ANI inputs)
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