Kalpatta: Revenue Department Minister K Rajan on Monday said that the search for the missing persons in the landslides at Mundakkai and Chooralmala areas in Wayanad has not been completed and no team has stopped the mission. 

The Minister clarified that the rescue operation is proceeding through proper systems and people are being allowed inside only in accordance with travel curbs.

The Minister also said that the funeral rites of 31 unidentified physical bodies and 158 body parts will begin by 3 pm on Monday at the 64-cent land at Puthumala. The funeral proceedings will begin after the online review meeting attended by the Chief Minister. Minister K Rajan and Forest Minister A K Saseendran will attend the meeting online.

The funeral rites of those who died in the tragedy, who have not been identified, began on Sunday. 

While the law allows for the burial of unclaimed bodies if they cannot be identified within 72 hours of death, the government has provided a window for relatives to identify and claim the remains up until just before burial. However, the cremation will be done after taking the DNA samples and recording the exact location of the burial.

The Ministers clarified that the rescue operations in Chooralmala are in progress and the search will continue until the last missing person is found and all the allegations are baseless.

Meanwhile, A K Saseendran responded to the criticism of Union Forest and Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav that this is not an apt time to teach him about the political situation in Kerala. 

The Union Minister has held that illegal mining and illegal human settlements were the cause of the Wayanad disaster and that illegal activities were being carried out under local bodies.