Rajnath Gives Rs 100 Crore Aid, Says Situation ‘Very Serious’
KOCHI/ THIRUVANANTHPURAM: Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, who made an aerial survey of the flood-ravaged Kerala, said the Centre would stand by the state government and provide an immediate relief of Rs 100 crore to the state that has estimated its damages at Rs 8,316 crore.
After surveying the flood-affected districts, Singh said the situation in Kerala was “very serious”.Singh wrote on Twitter, “I understand the suffering of the people of Kerala due to this unprecedented crisis. Since assessment of damages will take some time, I hereby announce immediate relief of additional Rs 100 crores.”.
State authorities said the death toll in the recent monsoon rain rose to 38 and more than 1,00,000 people had been shifted to 1,026 relief camps.The Union Minister’s announcement of aid came as the first response to the State’s plea for ₹1,220 crore from the National Disaster Response Fund. The Centre had earlier sanctioned ₹80 crore and another ₹18.24 crore assistance to the State.
“In order to supplement the efforts of the state government, just before leaving for Kerala I have approved the release the second installment of Rs 80.25 crore in advance for the SDRF,” Singh added.
Vijayan issued a statement on Twitter saying, “The impact of the disaster is likely to be felt for a long time. Preliminary assessment indicate that nearly 20000 houses have been fully damaged and nearly 10000 km of state PWD roads damaged. The preliminary loss is around Rs 8316 crore.”
He added, “CM informed that a detailed memorandum will be submitted as soon as the assessment of the damages is completed. State Government would request the Union Govt. to declare the calamity as that of ‘rare severity’ and provide the required funds and assistance.”
Rajnath Singh on Sunday addressed affected people at a relief camp at Elanthikkara in Paravur Taluk in Ernakulam district. “Today we conducted an aerial survey of flood affected areas with the Chief Minister and I reached the conclusion that the situation is very serious in Kerala due to floods,” he said.
“And I would like to assure the state government that all sorts of support will be provided by the central government to meet the challenges of the flood situation,” he said. The central government stands firmly with the state government in this situation, the union minister said.
Singh was speaking in the presence of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Union Minister Alphons Kannanthanam, who arrived with him from Delhi, state Revenue Minister E Chandrasekharan and senior state government officials. He also heard the grievances of people who lost their homes and land in the floods.
After a brief lull, rains started lashing several parts of Kerala since Sunday morning, posing problems to relief work by multiple agencies in flood and landslide hit regions. However, water level in Idukki and Idamalayar dams reduced, bringing some relief, with authorities saying there was no need for people living downstream to panic.
No fresh casualties were reported since Saturday and the toll in the rain-related incidents since the current monsoon fury from August 8 stood at 37, officials said. More than 60,000 people have been accommodated in relief camps set up in different areas, including in Wayand, where over 14,000 people had been sheltered.
Ten columns of Army, a unit of Madras Regiment along with personnel of Navy, Air Force and NDRF are engaged in relief and rescue work in badly-hit districts, including Kozhikode, Idukki, Malappuram, Kannur and Wayanad, Defence sources said.
Later, Mr. Singh told the media that the Centre was convinced about the losses Kerala had suffered. According to him, it was the worst floods the State had experience since 1924.
A high-level team, headed by him, would evaluate the report of the inter-ministerial team. More men from the National Disaster Response Force would be deployed in Kerala, if required, he added.
Emergency services in the State remained on the alert for heavy rains and flash floods, as weathermen maintained a sharp lookout for the development of a fresh low pressure area in the Bay of Bengal.
The State Disaster Management Authority has declared a red alert in Idukki and Wayanad districts up to August 14 in the light of the extremely heavy rain warning issued by the weather office. Alappuzha, Kannur, Ernakulam, Palakkad, Malappuram and Kozhikode have been put on red alert till Monday.(With Agency Inputs ).
