Call for army to take over flood duty
PM ANNOUNCES RS5 BILLION IN EMERGENCY FUNDS FOR RELIEF WORK IN KERALA, DEATH TOLL REACHES 357
The devastating floods in Kerala showed little signs of easing yesterday, prompting the opposition to demand that relief operations be handed over to the federal defence forces.
Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala made the demand even as India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the state to assess the flood impact first hand.
“With folded hands I appeal that the relief work be handed over to the defence forces, dropping the false pride that we can do it alone,” Chennithala said yesterday. The Opposition leader had made a similar plea to chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan earlier this week.
“This is the fourth straight day since the major havoc began and the misery in places like Chengannur, Pandalam, Ranni, Aranmula, Paravur, Angamaly, Aluva and Chalakudy is painfully severe.
Instead of making statements about things like the number of life jackets and boats, it is time to inform the federal government the number of defence forces we need for the rescue and relief work”, Chennithala said.
Rs5b additional funds
Modi, who arrived in Kerala late on Friday, was in Kochi yesterday morning to see some of the worst-affected places.
The PM later announced Rs5 billion (Dh263 million) in emergency funds for the state government towards relief work.
This follows a sum of Rs1 billion announced earlier this week.
The announcement was not encouraging for the state authorities, given that the preliminary estimate of the money required for the state to put the infrastructure back on track and cater to relief work, has been put at over Rs195 billion.
Thousands more made their way to relief camps across the state on Saturday as flooding affected more areas. By Saturday afternoon, the number of people in relief camps was estimated at over 350,000. There are now 3,026 relief camps functioning across the state.
The number of displaced people began swelling on Friday evening when tens of thousands of people from Kuttanad, Kerala’s traditional rice bowl, began pouring into relief camps in Changanacherry in Kottayam district.
The death toll in the floods since May has reached 357 with 22 more deaths reported yesterday and red alert continued in 11 districts with prediction of more rains.
Over 1,000 houses have been completely destroyed and about 26,000 houses have suffered partial destruction. Many were unable to attend the funeral services of their family members because they were marooned, and numerous weddings slated for the weekend were postponed.
Agriculture sector
The agricultural sector in Kerala, which had been reeling under low commodity prices, has been dealt a crippling blow by the floods. Estimates say that nearly 50,000 cattle and over 200,000 poultry have been killed in the floods. Crops across nearly 50,000 hectares are feared to have been destroyed in the rain waters.