Kerala floods: State governments including Assam, Rajasthan, Arunachal Pradesh and more have lent out financial help to Kerala. Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu announced Monday that he would donate his one month's salary towards the relief work and the Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra also announced that Supreme Court would contribute to Kerala flood relief fund. Apart from the Legislature and the Judiciary, help has been provided from abroad as well. The Indian Diaspora in China in association with the Malayalee Association has raised over Rs. 14 lakh.
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Over 200 people have reportedly been killed in the floods and thousands have been displaced in Kerala. Chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan has pegged the loses incurred by the state at Rs 19,512 crore so far. A special assembly session will be held on August 30 to discuss relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction, Vijayan said. India will have to turn down UAE's offer for the flood relief contribution of Rs 700 crore due to a policy made in 2014.
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CPM workers have collected Rs 16, 43,73,940 through a public donation drive from 10 districts over last two days. Kannur topped with nearly Rs 6.39 crores followed by Trivandrum with 2.25 crores. The money will be pooled into the CMDRF.
Kerala sought a Rs 2,600 crore special package from the Centre even as the state struggled to find its feet after the devastating deluge that left 231 dead in a fortnight and displaced over 14 lakh people. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan chaired a meeting of the state cabinet, which decided to seek the special package under the centrally-sponsored schemes, including the flagship rural employment programme MNREGS.
As the cabinet took stock of the havoc caused by the unprecedented floods in a century, the Centre released Rs 600 crore to Kerala and decided to waive customs duty and GST on the relief materials being imported for the affected people. The central assistance of Rs 500 crore as announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Rs 100 crore by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh had been released today, an official spokesperson said in New Delhi. (PTI)
The India Air Force has so far rescued 663 people in flood-battered Kerala and airlifted 974 tonnes of relief material, it said in a statement. Transport aircraft from all corners of the country have been flying day and night to ensure relief material is available in relief camps, it said.
"Women, children, elderly people and residents were winched from the rooftops of submerged houses to safety by IAF helicopters. Till date, IAF has rescued 663 people. IAF helicopters have also dropped food and water packets to the stranded people in the affected areas," the statement read.
It has airlifted 974 tonnes of relief material. Medical teams from the Southern Air Command and the Training Command have been deployed at various places to provide medical assistance, it said. (PTI)
To ensure hassle-free delivery of relief materials to flood-ravaged Kerala, Cochin Port, one of the top 12 major ports in the country, has earmarked two berths for priority berthing of vessels carrying such items, the government said. Naval Ship INS Deepak from Mumbai has brought in about 800 tonnes of fresh water and 18 tonnes of provisions to Cochin.
"In the calamity-hit state of Kerala, the Ministry of Shipping has taken the initiative to reach relief material from various parts of the country to Cochin Port through coastal shipping," the Ministry of Shipping said in a statement.
The Cochin Port Trust has earmarked two berths at Mattancherry and Ernakulam wharfs for priority berthing of vessels bringing flood relief materials to Kerala, it said adding, two warehouses have been especially earmarked for storage of relief materials and medicines. (PTI)
Over 24,000 people have been evacuated till now from the flood affected regions of Kerala till now even as 41 NDRF teams are still undertaking relief and rescue operations in the state, a force spokesperson said. Flood waters were receding in most of the affected areas and there are no alerts for heavy rainfall for the next few days.
"The force has rescued 535 people and evacuated 24,616 marooned people to safer places. 119 animals were also evacuated and pre-hospital treatment was provided to 4,908 people till now," he said.
At least 41 teams of the federal disaster contingency force are still deployed in Kerala to assist the state administration in rescue, relief and rehabilitation work and to respond in case of any eventuality, the spokesperson said. A National Disaster Response Force team has about 35-40 personnel. (PTI)
Central assistance of Rs.500 crore, as announced by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Rs.100 crore, announced by the Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, for flood-affected Kerala has been released to the Kerala government on Tuesday.
The National Crisis Management Committee met for the sixth time in a row today to review the rescue and relief operations in the state. Cabinet Secretary PK Sinha, chaired the meeting. The Chief Secretary of Kerala participated in the meeting via video conference and informed that the situation is now improving by and large though there are some isolated pockets still with water. Water levels are receding fast.
The Department of Food and Public Distribution has made additional allocation of 89,540 MT of rice as per the state government’s request.
Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan has thanked UAE for providing an assistance of Rs 700 crore towards relief and aid operations in flood-affected Kerala. He expressed his gratitude to Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE and the Emir of Abu Dhabi, and Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Prime Minister of UAE and Emir of Dubai.
Railway Minister Piyush Goyal today appealed to the Indian Railway's 13 lakh employees across 16 zones to voluntarily donate a day's salary for the flood relief operations in Kerala. Goyal said he was confident of a positive response from the employees as their contribution will help bring relief to the thousands rendered homeless in the state.
"Employees of southern railways have already contributed Rs 65 lakh to the Chief Minister's Relief Fund without us even asking them to do so. We will send out the notice today," the minister told reporters.
The Indian Railway has restored all the tracks affected with heavy flash floods, land slips, boulder falling on track etc in divisions of Southern Railway, a PIB press release stated. The affected divisions were of Thiruvananthapuram, Palakkad and Madurai.
Almost all the train services, except for few for want of pairing rakes, are restored from today, the statement said.
The Malayalam year 1099 (ME), or what was 1924 in the Gregorian calendar, is often considered to be a landmark moment in Kerala’s history. That year the much endeared season of rains in the state transformed into a disaster of monstrous dimensions. The current state of deluge in Kerala is reminiscent of that monsoon, almost a century back, when ‘God’s own country’ transformed into a calamity zone. Read more
The CPI today said and the Centre's assistance of Rs 500 crore to flood-battered Kerala was "too little", and Prime Minister Narendra Modi could have been "more generous" towards the state.
CPI General Secretary Suravaram Sudhakar Reddy said, "We are not satisfied. We think it's too little considering the scale of destruction in Kerala. Initial estimates put the loss at Rs 20,000 crore."
Union Minister of Health & Family Welfare JP Nadda and MoS Health Ashwini Choubey hold a meeting over relief and rescue operations in Kerala.
The Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) has suffered an estimated loss of over Rs 220 crores in the floods, PTI quoted abn official saying Tuesday. He said the CIAL management has launched rebuilding of the damaged infrastructure including 2.5 km long airport walls that collapsed after Periyar river overflowed. Read more
Russian President Vladimir Putin has written to the Indian President and Prime Minister and expressed his condolences over the loss of life in Kerala floods.
The Dalai Lama has donated Rs 11 lakh towards the relief and rescue operations in Kerala. In a letter written to Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan, the Dalai Lama expressed solidarity with the people of Kerala in this testing hour.
National Highways Authority of India – NHAI has waived off user fee at three toll plazas in Kerala in view of the unprecedented flood situation in the state. The waiver has been made on the toll plazas at Paliekkara in Thrissur district, Pampampallam in Palakkad district and Kumbalam in Cochin. It came into effect last week and will continue till the end of this week, that is the 26th of August.
Many highways in the state are flooded, including the stretches of NH-544 close to Aluva due to the unprecedented rains/opening of dams in several districts in the state.
The Union Ministry of Earth Sciences is also planning to set up another C-Band Doppler Weather Radar at Mangalore by end of 2019, which will cover the northern parts of Kerala. At present, there are two Doppler Weather Radars in the state, at Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram. With these 3 radars, the entire state will be covered for monitoring of rainfall and severe weather events, and adequately warn the people well in advance. IMD has developed many new models and tools right from nowcasts (2-3 hours) to extended range forecasts (15-20 days’ lead time).
The Department is also planning to organize an awareness and training workshop for the state disaster management authorities of all states and other stakeholders by next month, to brief and train them on the new tools and how to make use of them for effective decision making.
With several incidents of tropical cyclones and severe weather events striking over Kerala and Karnataka coasts in the recent times, the Union Ministry of Earth Sciences is proposing to set up a Cyclone Warning Centre in Thiruvananthapuram. The Ministry is planning to set up the Centre in another one month. At present, IMD has cyclone warning centres only at Chennai, Vishakhapatnam, Bhubaneswar, Kolkata, Ahmedabad and Mumbai.
The Centre will cater to the needs of Kerala and Karnataka states and will be equipped with all state of the art infrastructure including forecasting tools to issue weather warnings and coastal bulletins (for fishermen,etc.).It will further strengthen the present forecasting activity in India Meteorological Department’s existing office in Kerala.
In a cabinet meeting today, the Kerala government announced that they will soon be submitting a detailed proposal on reconstruction and rebuilding work that has to be carried out in Kerala.
The Kerala government has also written to the Centre asking that they be allowed to increase the cap on how much money the state can raise from markets from 3 per cent of GSP to 4.5 per cent of GSP inorder to raise an additional 10,500 cr.
Commerical and co-op banks have been asked to waive off loans in affected areas.
There have been complaints that some representatives of private financial firms have visited relief camps to get money on outstanding loans. This, the government said, should stop and financial firms should be more cooperative towards those affected by the floods.
CM Pinarayi Vijayan has released a list of cheques, running to eight pages, received in the relief fund account till August 20, 2018. The list gives detail of the name of individual or organisation against the amount contributed, which roughly totals to Rs 49.6 crore.Yesterday, CM Vijayan rubbished and clarified rumours about the misuse of donation amount sent to the CM relief fund.
(Source: Facebook/CM Pinarayi Vijayan)
The Humane Society International/India (HSI/India) has deployed rescue crew in flood-hit Kerala and Coorg to save animals. They have set up emergency helpline where people could ask for help. "People are desperately worried about their pets and our Kerala helpline is ringing day and night with pleas for animal rescue," said Rahul Sehgal, HSI India's senior director of Companion Animals & Engagement, reported PTI.
Automobile industries have joined the list of contributers for the relief fund and among the latest is Bajaj Auto which has announced to donate Rs 2 crore in aid of the flood-hit state.
The amount has been divided into cash to be desposited to the Chief Minister's Relief Fund and the balance Rs 1 crore will be deployed by Jankidevi Bajaj Gram Vikas Sanstha (JBGVS), for distribution of survival kits, said the company, PTI reported.
"Through this amount, Bajaj Auto aims to support at least 1,000 families with a basic startup kit for those who have been affected by the floods," the statement said.
Among other companies, Hyundai Motor India Ltd. (HMIL) and TVS Motor Company have also announced contribution of Rs 1 crore each to the state Chief Minister relief fund.
The Chairperson of Delhi Commission for Women Swati Maliwal donated her one month's salary for the cause and the employees of DCW parted with a day of their salary to contribute to the relief fund.
A day after when the Centre declared the floods as a "severe" calamity, employees of the Central Railway decided to make a contribution from their salaries, reported PTI.
The officers and staff of the central railway zone have expressed their willingness to contribute part of their salary for the month of August as per the pay grade.
A rescue operation has been set in place for animals and reptiles as well and a list of contacts of officials for rescuing snakes and animals has been doing rounds on social media.
While states across the country and foreign dignitaries are making the contribution towards the Kerala relief fund, few individuals have come up with unique ways to raise money for the victims.
Some artists are selling their pictures and donating the proceeds to the relief fund. While writers are using their skill on receiving knowledge of the donation.
Read| These artists have come up with innovative ways to boost donations for Kerala flood relief
A special train carrying hundreds of people, mostly labourers from West Bengal, stranded in the flood-hit state has reached Kolkata today, a South Eastern Railway spokesman informed, reported PTI.
In addition, two more trains, which left from Ernakulam on Sunday evening are scheduled to reach Kolkata today.
As the water in the state is gradually receding, people are returning to the leftovers and therefore Union Tourism Minister K J Alphons today pointed out the need for ready-to-eat cooked food and medical assistance. Alphos also appealed the skilled worker including plumbers, electricians and carpenters to help people regain normalcy.
The 105 battalion of Rapid Action Force (RAF) and G 36 group of Rotary clubs have dispatched relief material in 10 trucks for flood victims in Kerala's Ernakulam, Kottayam and Alappuzha
A special assembly session on August 30 has been recommended by the Kerala Cabinet to the Governor, says CM Pinarayi Vijayan. Discussions over relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction of Kerala after floods are likely to be discussed by the assembly.
Joining the international countries, the UAE has offered Rs 700 crore for Kerala flood relief, says CM Pinarayi Vijayan
Read| UAE to donate Rs 700 crore for relief work, says CM Pinarayi Vijayan
Reaching out to the victims of Kerala flood, a schoolgirl has offered to hand over one-acre land, worth Rs. 50 lakh, from her family property to the government relief fund.
The 16-year-old wrote to the Chief Minister on Monday expressing her desire.
On the other hand, a Catholic church in Idukki alloted a space in the cemetery for the burial of a Hindu man, who lost his life at a relief camp. Due to lack of means to bury the body, St. Anne's Church, Pallivasal offered the deceased, M Subramanian, a burial space.
Read| Schoolgirl offers land to relief pool
A special evacuation by trains has been conducted in Kerala, taking an estimated 25,000 labourers to their home states. On Monday, six special trains were pressed into service over the weekend transporting stranded labourers to three eastern Indian states.
Read more| Railways takes 25,000 migrant labourers back to home states
According to official estimates, there are more than 2.5 million migrant labourers working in Kerala, coming from other states and even Nepal and Bangladesh. The governments of West Bengal and Odisha had reached out to Indian Railways to get their residents back.
In Manjaly, a small village in Ernakulam district, Kerala, people are shocked to witness the state of their homes after rain and flood brought down the structres. Manjalay and nearby Puthenvelikkara in Paravur taluk remained under water for five whole days, sweeping nearly 90 per cent of its inhabitants to shelter camps, Vishnu Varma, correspondent in Kerala reported. Read more| In Manjaly, state of homes send people into shock, their confidence shattered
As the first phase of rescue operations reaches its end, Kerala attempts to return to normalcy. (Express Photos by Nirmal Harindran)
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Among various states, Madhya Pradesh DGP Rishi Kumar Shukla said the state police department would make a donation of Rs. 1.31 crore to Kerala Chief Minister's Distress Fund and all police personnel of MP would donate their one day's salary as well.
Telangana and Andhra Pradesh have decided to contribute nearly Rs 100 crore to the relief fund along with 2,3500 tonnes of rice and essential commodities. Read| Telangana, Andhra Pradesh to contribute Rs 100 crores in cash and kind for victims
Earlier, Home Minister Rajnath Singh had announced Rs. 100 crore as immediate relief and on taking stock of the situation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced an additional Rs. 500 crore for the state. New Delhi, Bihar, and Odisha granted Rs. 10 crore aid each. Many states including Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Manipur, Uttarakhand, Maharashtra, Himachal Pradesh and more came forward helping the flood-hit state.
Fairly widespread rainfall will occur over the state till tomorrow, which roughly translates to 51 to 75 per cent meteorological stations would experience rains. No weather warning has been issued yet.
Scanty rainfall has been predicted from August 23 and sea conditions are predicted to range from rough to very rough over the Arabian Sea for the next five days. Fishermen have been advised not to venture into the sea.
Kerala government called an all-party meeting at 4 pm today.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan called out on the rumours circling around on social media about the misuse of donation for funds on Monday.
"Police have been instructed to take strict measures against such cyber offenders. Also Spotted some fraudulent messages/posters with altered CMDRF account numbers as well," the CM wrote on Twitter.
Around 80 doctors from Mumbai flew to Thiruvanthapuram on Monday to offer medical assistance to people stranded in flood-hit state. Around 55 doctors from JJ hospital, 26 doctors from Sasoon hospital and 14 paramedical staff reached Thiruvanthapuram in two Air India aircraft.
Indian Air Force's C-130J yesterday airlifted medical team consisting of doctors led by Medical Education Minister of Maharashtra Girish Mahajan from Mumbai to Trivandrum. (ANI photo)
Meanwhile, support groups like Khalsa Aid, UK-based philanthropist group, served langar to flood victims to at least 13,000 people twice a day. Expanding their langar service, five additional volunteers reached Kochi on Monday. The Khalsa Aid is now preparing meals at Rajiv Gandhi Indoor Stadium, Kochi which is government's central food supplies centre for relief operations in Kerala. Read| Langar sewa expands; Sikh volunteers now serving meals to 13,000 people
Apart from providing food and medical assistance, the aviation indusrty too has come forward lending a hand to the state. Air India subsidiary Alliance Air on Monday operated several flights connecting to Kochi to other cities, including Bengaluru and Coimbatore, from the Kochi naval base. Indigo and Vistara, too, operated additional flights to transport passengers stranded in Kerala.
On declaring Kerala floods as a "severe" calamity, the state is bound to receive support at a national level with the possibility of additional assistance from the Centre’s National Disaster Response Fund. Falling under the "severe nature" category, a Calamity Relief Fund (CRF) is set up, with the corpus shared 3:1 between the Centre and state and relief in repayment of loans or grant of fresh loans on concessional terms are also considered.
Going by the Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS)guidelines, once a calamity is declared of "severe nature", each MP can contribute up to Rs 1 crore for relief and rehabilitation purposes.
Read| Declaring Kerala floods ‘severe’ calamity, Centre clears way for more aid
Three days after a team of four Sikh volunteers from the UK- based philanthropist group Khalsa Aid reached flood-hit Kerala and setup Guru da langar (community kitchen) at Kochi for some 3,000 people, they have expanded langar relief and now fresh meals are being served to at least 13,000 people twice a day. Read more
Union Minister Alphons Kannanthanam Monday turned down the demand of Congress leaders to declare Kerala flood as a “national calamity” and said there was no provision in the Disaster Management Act 2005 to do so. Read more
Union Minister Alphons Kannanthanam today turned down the demand of Congress leaders to declare Kerala flood as a "national calamity" and said
there was no provision in the Disaster Management Act 2005 to do so. Read more
Aviation regulator DGCA is monitoring airfares for flights connecting flood-hit Kerala but it should not be seen by airlines as micro-management by the government as this is a unique situation of 'humanitarian crisis', Civil Aviation Minister Suresh Prabhu said Monday. Read more
Tripura’s ruling BJP-IPFT government Monday decided to donate Rs. 1 crore for flood relief in Kerala. Speaking to reporters in Tripura this evening, Law minister Ratan Lal Nath said the state cabinet today convened in a special meeting. Read more