Accompanied by Kerala MLA Aryadan Shoukath, Vadra stopped at the home of Sajita, one of six people who perished in the Kottapuzha flash flood that struck the T.K. Colony in Amarambalam on Sept. 20. She then met Sajita’s relatives at the Appankappu settlement in Pothukallu, listening to their immediate needs and assuring them that she would seek both relief and longer‑term support for the bereaved family.
The congresswoman’s itinerary continued to Kurumbalangode in Chungathara, where she addressed a gathering of workers employed under the Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (VB‑G RAM G). The participants complained that the replacement of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme with the new programme had eroded the original intent of the employment‑guarantee law, leaving them with reduced work opportunities and lower wages.
Vadra said the new scheme “undermines the idea behind the employment guarantee law” and pledged to take the workers’ grievances to the Centre, urging the government to consider corrective measures that would restore the scheme’s original objectives.
She also met a group of autorickshaw drivers who highlighted the impact of soaring fuel prices and the rising cost of spare parts on their earnings. The drivers demanded an immediate fuel subsidy, a higher pension through the Welfare Fund Board, easier access to loans for vehicle maintenance, and permission for existing autorickshaw permits to be transferred to electric vehicles. Vadra told the drivers she would raise these demands with the Transport Department and other relevant authorities.
The visit, timed just three days after the deadly flash flood, underscores the Congress party’s effort to spotlight the hardships faced by Kerala’s rural communities and to position itself as a vocal advocate for workers’ rights ahead of upcoming elections.