National crisis committee reviews rescue, relief ops

PROMPT ACTION OF NDRF, ARMY AND NAVY HAS SAVED 2,182 LIVES. ALSO, 968 PEOPLE, WHO WERE STRANDED WERE EVACUATED AND TAKEN TO SAFE PLACES

NEW DELHI: With Kerala continuing to face the wrath of devastating floods, the National Crisis Management Committee met in the capital on Thursday to review the rescue and relief efforts and make sure that the immediate and adequate assistance was being provided to the state, said a government press release.

Cabinet secretary PK Sinha chaired the NCMC meeting on the instructions of PM Narendra Modi. The floods have claimed more than 100 lives so far.

The meeting was attended by the secretaries of defence, home and water resources, the three service chiefs, the coast guard chief, the head of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), member of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and the chairman of the Central Water Commission (CWC).

Kerala chief secretary and his team of officials participated in the meeting through video-conferencing, the release said.

Sinha asked the military, NDRF and Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFS) to render all possible assistance to the state, including the supply of relief material such as drinking water, dry food packets and powdered milk.

He constituted a committee to be headed by chairman, CWC and engineers-in-chief of Tamil Nadu and Kerala for reservoir management at the Mullaperiyar dam.

“So far, 2,182 persons have been rescued and 968 stranded people have been evacuated through prompt action of NDRF, army and navy,” the release said.

It added that 18 NDRF teams, nine columns and eight teams of the army’s engineering task force, 22 Coast Guard teams and 24 naval diving teams, along with helicopters, aircraft and boats had been dispatched to Kerala for rescue work and evacuation of stranded people.

The NDRF, army and navy are also providing medical assistance. The committee will meet again and review the situation on Friday.