Keralites to donate a month’s salary
Kerala government expects to complete reconstruction in 3 years
UAE-based Indian expatriates from Kerala have committed to donate one month’s salary to a government fund set up for flood relief in the southern state of Kerala, residents said.
The donations are in response to an appeal on Sunday by the Kerala government to donate three-days’ salary each time in ten monthly instalments.
Some expatriates have started a social media campaign asking fellow Keralites to take it as a challenge.
Most of them said they had already contributed to the relief fund immediately after the floods occurred.
Now they have taken it upon themselves to fulfil the new appeal, saying Keralites’ unity will help the state survive its most devastating crisis ever.
Meanwhile, Kerala Finance Minister Thomas Isaac yesterday said the state had begun talks with the World Bank for loans to help rebuild the state.
The government expects to complete all reconstruction within two to three years, according to Isaac. It will be followed by a full-scale redevelopment that could take a further three to five years.
“Our target would be to raise around Rs50 billion (Dh2 billion) from WB as soft loans on cheaper interest,” Isaac told Gulf News by phone.
“A figure of Rs150 billion plus would be handy to get going on the reconstruction works.”
Many expatriates from the south Indian state of Kerala have committed to donate one month’s salary to the Kerala Chief Minister’s Disaster Relief Fund in response to an appeal made by the state’s chief minister on social media.
In a Facebook post on Sunday, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had requested all Keralites to donate a month’s salary in 10 monthly instalments.
Responding to Vijayan’s appeal, some expatriates in the UAE started a social media campaign asking fellow Keralites to take it as a challenge. Most of them said they had already contributed to the relief fund immediately after the floods occurred.
Now they have taken it upon themselves to fulfil the new appeal, saying Keralites’ unity will help the state survive its most devastating crisis ever.
A couple in Al Ain who had planned a traditional naming ceremony for their newborn baby, have cancelled it to donate the expenses after hearing the chief minister’s appeal.
Jithesh Purushothaman, 40, a banking professional and his wife Chithra Jithesh, 37, a nurse, have committed to contribute one month’s salaries in ten monthly instalments.
The couple from Alappuzha district said that after the most devastating floods in Kerala’s history, “the loud cries of our brothers and sisters are still echoing in our ears. The visuals of victims really put us in shock. We didn’t have to think much to make a decision.”
Their baby Abhimanyu, born on July 24, received gifts from friends and relatives. “We will donate the value of those gifts also,” said Purushothaman, a UAE resident for 10 years.
Ninu Mohandas, 34, a business development manager in Dubai, has already transferred the first instalment of his one month’s salary. “Indeed, all are united in this mission and now it has become a [collective] emotion,” he said. “Sometimes, we can’t be physically involved; what we can do is to provide financial support,” said Mohandas, who hails from Wayanad district.
An office secretary in Abu
Dhabi and his wife working for a bank in Kerala are also contributing their month’s salaries. Abdul Rahman, 50, and Fouziya, 43, from Malappuram district, believe that their onemonth’s salary will help build a new “dream land”. “Kerala has set many examples before and we will set another model of successfully surviving a devastating disaster, thanks to people’s unity,” said Rahman, a UAE resident for 10 years.
Dr Mubarak Valiyakath, 40, a cardiologist with Thumbay Group of Hospitals in Sharjah, said he wants to personally hand over his month’s salary to chief minister Vijayan, who impressed with his leadership during the crisis, and by postponing his own medical treatment appointment overseas.
Dr Valiyakath will try to do so during a visit to Kerala shortly. “The people are close to my heart. I believe in humanity and we have a duty towards our fellow beings,” Valiyakath, who is from Kasaragod district, said.
A. Abdul Vaheed, 46, an engineer in Dubai, said his donation of a month’s salary is a gesture of giving back to the government and society.
“I studied in a government engineering college. The students those days paid only nominal fees. The government invested in us. A large part of who I am today is thanks to the education I received,” said Vaheed, who hails from Thiruvananthapuram and has lived in the UAE for 23 years.
K.V. Shamsuddin, chairman of Pravasi Bandhu Welfare Trust in Sharjah, said he would contribute a month’s salary and urged fellow Keralites to do the same through a social media campaign. “Many people responded positively to my campaign,” Shamsuddin, a UAE resident for over 40 years, said.
“We don’t need to worry about the misuse of our donations. A vigilant society can check corruption these days.”
The Kerala Government yesterday started talks with the World Bank for funds to help rebuild the southern Indian state devastated by last fortnight’s flood havoc, following persistent rains. The talks also involve senior officials from the central government.
The government expects to complete all reconstruction within two to three years, according to the state’s Finance Minister Thomas Isaac. It will be followed by a full-scale redevelopment that could take a further three to five years, with the special focus being on infrastructure works.
“Our target would be to raise around Rs50 billion (Dh2 billion) from WB as soft loans on cheaper interest,” said Isaac. “At the same time, we are in discussions with the central government to raise the limit on the funds that we can tap from such institutions. A figure of Rs150 billionplus would be handy to get going on the reconstruction works.”
What the eventual cost would be is yet to be finalised. Initial estimates placed it in the Rs200 billion range, but that has now swelled to Rs300 billion-plus. Only such a drastic overhaul can bring about the desired changes, Isaac said, and one which will help rebuild a shattered economy. “It will be a complete break from the infrastructure we used to have — we want to put in something that will inspire investor confidence,” said Isaac, an economist by profession.
“The way to do that is reduce the cost of doing business in Kerala, and a first-rate infrastructure can make that happen. China has done that successfully and it’s a model we can emulate. The improvements in infrastructure will be taken up on a war footing.”
Disruption
Heavy rain from August 13 set off floods across the entire stretch of Kerala, which led to a complete disruption of daily life and brought the local economy to a standstill.
The state is heavily dependent on certain sectors such as tourism and hospitality, retail and real estate, as well as agriculture. Its industrial base is small compared to some of the other Indian states, and the economy relies on remittances sent from expats in the Gulf.
Going forward, the Kerala Government will call for more financial support from non-resident Indians (NRIs) in the UAE and elsewhere.
There are plans to raise funds through the issuing of a “masala bond”, whereby individuals can pitch in with small contributions and on which they can generate future returns.
“Our initial target would be a relatively small Rs50 billion and will be done through the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Board,” said Isaac.