Kerala landslide tragedy: Radars to be used to trace Doctor Swadhin Panda

Bhubaneswar: Special radars will be used to trace Dr Swadhin Panda of Odisha, who is still missing following the deadly landslides in Kerala, informed Director of Odisha Parivar Dilip Routrai.

Dilip Routrai said that he was informed by the Wayanad District Collector Meghashree that the special radars will be brought from the Siachen and used in Mundakai and Chooralmala area of Kerala, which were massively affected by the landslides that took place on the night of July 30.

The special radars will be used by the Indian Army to search for the people including Panda who are still untraceable, said sources adding that the radars are capable enough to trace any life if buried under the debris.

It is to be noted here that Dr Swadhin Panda was among the two Odias who went missing after the landslide tragedy. However, the other Odia Dr Bishnuprasad Chinnara’s body was spotted a couple of days after the incident. The body of Bishnuprasad, a resident of Chodwar in Cuttack district, however, was brought back to Odisha and cremated at the Swargadwar in Puri today.

On the other hand, Priyadharini Pal, the wife of Bishnuprasad and Swikruti Mohapatra, the wife of Swadhin, are still undergoing treatment in Kerala.

Notably, over 360 people were killed while more than 250 are still missing following the landslide tragedy in Kerala. Around 560 people, who were injured in the incident, are undergoing treatment at different hospitals and makeshift health centres.

The search and rescue operation by over 1300 personnel including the Indian army and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) team are still underway.