Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. (File)
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Wednesday said that if need be, he will hold discussions with the Centre over the former’s denial of a Rs 700 crore flood relief aid offered by UAE. “As soon as this (UAE) aid was announced, Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted that this was an indeed welcome gesture. Now with media reports, if need be, we will speak to the Prime Minister,” he told reporters.
Earlier in the day, Vijayan had said that UAE “cannot be considered as any other nation” as “Indians, especially Keralites, have contributed immensely in their nation-building”. Read more
In the past 14 years, India has refused aid from Russia, US and Japan for Uttarakhand floods in 2013, and for the Kashmir earthquake in 2005 and floods in Kashmir in 2014. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during his visit last week, had announced an assistance of Rs 500 crore in addition to the Rs 100 crore announced by Home Minister Rajnath Singh.
Meanwhile, Southern Naval command Wednesday called off its 14-day long rescue operations in the flood-hit Kerala, saying there were no more requests for evacuation as waters receding in affected areas, PTI reported. It also said the Naval personnel rescued a total of 16,005 people during ‘Operation Madad’, launched on August 9 for assisting the state administration and undertaking disaster relief operations.
A step-by-step guide on how you can donate to the Kerala CM’s relief fund
A couple being rescued via boat by locals near Aluva
CMO tweeted out and said that Pinarayi Vijayan shall be visiting different relief camps in the state to review the functioning of the camps. He will personally visit camps in the worst hit-area Chengannur apart from Kozhencherry, Alappuzha, North Paravoor and Chalakudy.
Nagaland Deputy CM Y Patton met Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan on Wednesday and gave a cheque on behalf of Nagaland CM Neiphiu Rio for Kerala flood relief operations. Nagaland has announced an assistance of Rs 1 crore to the Kerala CM Relief Fund.
Income tax officials have decided to donate their one-day salary to aid the relief operations in flood-hit Kerala, news agency PTI reported.
"The Indian Revenue Service Association (an all-India body) expresses its deep concern and empathy with the disaster affected people of Kerala facing unprecedented floods in the state," according to an official statement issued today.
The statement said that all officers of the Indian Revenue Service (IRSS) Association will contribute at least one day's salary towards the disaster relief for the affected people of Kerala.
"We hope that the people of Kerala will soon overcome the calamity," it said.
Muslims collect fund for the victims of Kerala floods after offering prayers on the occasion of Eid al-Adha, in Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday. (PTI Photo)
Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra visits the Kerala Flood Relief Collection Centre at the Supreme Court in New Delhi on Wednesday. (Express Photo by Tashi Tobgyal)
Vijayan has termed the Opposition leaders' charges that all dams were opened at once as "baseless". Idamalayar and Idukki dams were opened after proper inspection and deliberation with officials, he said.
"I have come across reports that the Centre might not accept the funds promised by UAE for relief. If need be, we will approach the Prime Minsiter and have a discussion on it," said CM P Vijayan.
The Kerala government has decided to organise a farewell on August 26 to express its love & gratitude towards the various defence forces who helped in relief and rescue operations in the state, CM Pinarayi Vijayan said.
The CM thanked the Indian cricketers for dedicating their victory in England to the victims of Kerala floods. He also expressed his delight to see children coming to front and donating their life savings towards the relief fund.
CM Pinarayi Vijayan said the police, fireforce and health officials are actively working in the relief operations. He also urged those who have returned to see their homes destroyed in the floods to stay strong and that together they shall overcome this crisis.
Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan extended his gratitude towards the security forces for undertaking the herculean task of rescue operations in flood-affected Kerala. Addressing a press conference, he said that rescue operations are on the verge of completion.
The Southern Naval command today called off its 14-day long rescue operations in the flood-hit Kerala, saying there were no more requests for evacuation as waters receding in affected areas, news agency PTI reported.
It also said the Naval personnel rescued a total of 16,005 people during 'Operation Madad', launched on August 9 for assisting the state administration and undertaking disaster relief operations.
"The Southern Naval Command recalled all rescue teams deployed for #OperationMadad as flood waters receded and no more requests for rescue were received," a Defence release said here.
Indian skipper Virat Kohli Wednesday dedicated his team's 203-run victory over England in the Trent Bridge test to the Kerala flood victims. Speaking at the post-match presentation ceremony, Virat said, "We, as a team, want to dedicate this win to the flood victims in Kerala. This is our bit we can do as the Indian cricket team. A tough time there. "
'Unfortunately, I am sorry to say that the financial assistance announced by the Government of India is quite disappointing as far the magnitude of the crisis is concerned'- Former CM Ommen Chandy in a letter to PM Modi #KeralaFloods pic.twitter.com/J9fmfe0XWn— ANI (@ANI) August 22, 2018
With the central government hesitant to accept the offer of Rs 700 crore made by crown prince of Abu Dhabi for relief and rehabilitation works in Kerala, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that UAE “cannot be considered as any other nation” as “Indians, especially Keralites, have contributed immensely in their nation building.” Read more
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor held high-level briefings at the United Nations Headquarters in Geneva on Aug 20-21 on Kerala floods to identify avenues through which international organisations,the UN & the Red Cross, can support relief, rehabilitation&rebuilding operations in Kerala. Read more
Actor Jayaram handing over new Onam clothes to flood affected at a relief camp in Ernakulam district. (Express photo)
The Thiruvananthapuram MP said he informed CM Vijayan on the “utility of these discussions, their nature and purpose and the specific areas of priority for the Chief Minister.” He further stated that he wrote to the CM on the impressions gained from his briefings with UN agencies in Geneva and the possible course of actions for the state, if required.
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Kerala’s Idukki district in the Western Ghats, one of the most affected regions in the unprecedented rains, remained cut off from the mainland for the seventh day with all major roads either buried or washed away in landslides. Unlike other flood-hit regions in Kerala, what led to the massive destruction in Idukki was landslides.
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A live show conducted on the ChessBase India Youtube Channel by Nihal Sarin has India's first grandmaster and five-time World Champion Vishwanathan Anand pledging to donate Rs 15,000 which will be donated to the Chief Minister's Distress Relief Fund for the Kerala floods. The live show will be conducted on August 22.
Chief Ministers Distress Relief Fund has so far received Rs 210 cr. This is in addition to the pledge for financial assistance of Rs 160 crores. We feel humbled by this overwhelming response and pledge to to strive to meet your expectations, said Kerala's finance minister Thomas Isaac.
A man dries books on a sunny day after the flood in Kerala's Chalakudy at Thrissur. ( Express Photo by Vignesh Krishnamoorthy)
Clear sky at Cochin as flood water begins to recede in places. (Express photo by Nirmal Harindran)
Arguing that the flood relief of Rs 500 crore announced by the Centre for Kerala was “grossly inadequate”, CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury on Tuesday wrote to PM Narendra Modi asking the government to increase the assistance to Rs 2,000 crore and seek the help of United Nations’ aid agencies for rebuilding homes in the state.
Yechury wrote that massive resources would be required for rehabilitation of people. He demanded that “substantial funds” be released under Pradhan Mantri Awaz Yojana for building homes, deployment of personnel of NHAI and other central agencies to help rebuild communication networks and waiver of duties on medical equipment sent by organisations abroad.
Continuing its efforts to help flood-affected Kerala, Pune Division of the Indian Railways on Tuesday sent four tonnes of relief material, including food, clothes and medicines, to Thiruvananthapuram. Last week, the Pune division had sent a train with 29 wagons filled with drinking water to Kayamkulam in coastal part of Kerala, as the state faced severe shortage of drinking water. An empty train with 18 coaches, all general bogey, was also sent to Thiruvananthapuram on Monday. This is third such relief material sent by the division.
It may be noted here that Central Railway has already sent potable water in 14 wagons to Kerala, besides sending 27,000 kg of relief material to Kerala by different trains.
The seventh largest airport in the country, in terms of passenger traffic, sees almost 55 per cent of its traffic from international passengers. Following the closure of the airport, some airlines have moved their Kochi operations to nearby airports such as Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode.
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Kerala is likely to get around Rs 200 crore from Railways after Railway Minister Piyush Goyal on Tuesday appealed to the national transporter’s 13 lakh employees across 16 zones to voluntarily donate a day’s salary for the cause.
Mizoram offered Rs 2 crore aid for Kerala. While J&K Bank staffers will be contributing Rs 11 crore to the Kerala relief fund. BJP MPs, MLAs and MLCs from Jammu and Kashmir will donate a month’s salary, J&K BJP president Ravinder Raina said. As many as 500 full-time party workers will also work as volunteers in flood-affected areas of Kerala.
“There are around 3.8 million Keralites working in the Middle East, of whom 70-80% are in Saudi Arabia and the UAE together,” said Harikrishnan Namboothiripad, CEO of Non-Resident Keralites’ Affairs (NORKA), a state government department.
On the other hand, the 2016 Kerala Migration Survey puts the number of migrant workers from Kerala at 2.2 million, 90% of them in Gulf Cooperation Council countries. This is down from 2.4 million migrants in the 2014 survey, conducted by the Centre for Development Studies (CDS). Another CDS survey found that Keralites abroad sent home Rs 71,000 crore in 2014; and these reached 16.6% — 1 of every 6 — of all households in the state.
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As flood-hit people started returning from relief camps, many reported the presence of poisonous snakes at their houses. These are believed to have come from forests. In Ernakulam district, where more than 1 lakh people returned home on Tuesday, a private hospital said it had attended to several cases of snake bite since the flood.
Over 10.78 lakh people, women and children below 12 years of age, are being taken care of in as many as 3,200 relief camps. A couple being rescued via boat by locals near Aluva. (Express photo)
Hundreds of schools, colleges, marriage halls and auditoriums that turned into temporary settlement camps for those escaping the floods. A photo from the camp in Kanjoor in Ernakulam district where food is being served. (Express photo)
As flood-hit Kerala struggles to restore its civic infrastructure, the reconstruction of the damaged road network poses a major challenge. The state faces the task of rebuilding 10,000 km of damaged roads under the state public works department even as it faces an acute shortage of raw materials. The state will also have to support construction of at least 1 lakh houses damaged in the flood, further increasing the appetite for stone mining.
The unexpected need for huge mining comes at a time the state’s booming construction sector has been under strain since June, after the government ordered closure of stone quarrying units in ecologically fragile, landslide-prone areas in the Western Ghats.
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The team of doctors, from J J Hospital in Mumbai and B J Medical College and Sassoon General Hospital in Pune, have been visiting various villages and tehsil areas where relief and shelter camps have been put up to conduct basic health and medical check-ups. Fever, headache and skin infections were among the immediate problems the team of 90 doctors had found among those hit by the deluge.
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During floods, the villagers who probably didn't even know each other's names, stuck their necks out for each other, showing remarkable courage in the face of adversity. People went from house-to-house, whistling and shouting, knocking on doors in the dead of night to tell their neighbours, friends and family that it was not safe to remain at home.
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Kerala has sought a special package of Rs 2,600 crore from the Centre for relief and rehabilitation. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Cabinet have collectively announced interim assistance of Rs 680 crore for the state so far.
According to the CM Vijayan, the cabinet decided to seek sanction from the GST Council to levy 10 per cent cess. The state would also ask the central government to increase the cap on the state’s market borrowing. At present, the debt cap of the state is three per cent of its GDP. If this is increased to 4.5 per cent, the state can borrow an additional Rs 10,500 crore from the market, Vijayan said.
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Welcome to our Kerala floods LIVE blog. Follow this space for the latest updates.
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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