PremiumOTHERS : Kerala floods claimed 33 lives Saturday and at least 13 more today, increasing the overall death toll to 370. More than 7.8 lakh people are in relief camps, 8000 houses have been washed away and around 26,000 are partly damaged. Many areas in Kerala continue to receive heavy downpour, hampering rescue work.Prime Minister Narendra Modi carried out an aerial survey of the Kerala floods—the worst in a century—and announced a ₹ 500 crore relief package. More help has also started pouring in. Air India’s Alliance Air will from Monday operate several flights from the Kochi naval base. Operations are suspended at the Kochi airport due to Kerala floods.The India Meteorological Department, meanwhile, said the rainfall intensity in the state will reduce in the next 2-3 days. Officials, for their part, said that all the marooned people are likely to be rescued in the next 24 hours.A look at how the Kerala flood situation, and the rescue and relief operations, panned out on Sunday, 19 August:
The ministry of health and family welfare to airlift 60 tonnes of emergency medicines tomorrow. A special train with 14 lakh litres of water and navy ship with 8 lakh litres of water to reach Kerala by tomorrow, says Government of India.
Assam government will extend a financial aid of ₹ 3 crore to the flood-ravaged Kerala, Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal said on Sunday. Sonowal also directed the state revenue and disaster management department to open a helpline to extend help to the people of Assam who are trapped in the deluge and by expediting their rescue and providing relief to them. HT
Stating that Kerala was facing an unprecedented flood havoc that had killed hundreds of people and rendered thousands homeless, RSS joint general secretary Suresh Soni said, “The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh calls upon the people of Bharat to stand by Kerala in this period of crisis and extend all possible help to the victims.” HT
“People of Manipur stand in solidarity with the people of Kerala, may you find comfort in knowing that the rest of India stand with you. The people of Manipur pray for you and extending a sum of ₹ 2 crore to relief funds from the state,” chief minister N. Biren Singh said. HT
The department of food and public distribution has provided 50,000 tonnes of food grains to Kerala. The department of consumer affairs has made arrangements to airlift 100 tonnes of pulses by tomorrow with additional quantities to be sent by train, said the union government. ANI
The petroleum and natural gas ministry has made available 9,300 kilolitres of kerosene to Kerala. Additional 12,000 kilolitres of kerosene will be allocated. LPG bottling plant in Kochi has been reopened, says the union government. ANI
More than 38,000 people rescued and evacuated from the flood-affected areas in Kerala. Medical aid has been provided to over 23,000 people. Three lakh food packets have been supplied by the food processing ministry, says the union government. ANI
Cadres of Communist Party of India (Marxist), along with Nemmara MLA K. Babu, are carrying out rescue and relief operations in Palakkad.
Kerala: CPI(M) cadres, along with Nemmara MLA K Babu, are carrying out rescue and relief operations in Palakkad. #KeralaFloods pic.twitter.com/QUnfmDEIRB
— ANI (@ANI) August 19, 2018
Seva Bharati, the community service unit of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), is carrying out rescue and relief operations across Kerala. “We stock materials and transport it via trucks and trains.We started this on 15 August and will continue as long as it’s required,” said a Seva Bharati member.
The Jammu and Kashmir government on Sunday announced a ₹ 2 crore assistance for Kerala flood victims. Governor N.N. Vohra gave this information to CM Pinarayi Vijayan while expressing sorrow over the tragic loss of hundreds of lives in the floods.The governor has also announced that suitable arrangements are being urgently put in place to enable people of Jammu and Kashmir to contribute to Kerala flood relief fund. HT
Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan said the biggest challenge now was to provide adequate compensation to those who had lost virtually everything they had as the swollen rivers simply washed away countless homes and left a trail of destruction. He said the next task would be to help people get back to normal life, for which a plan was being worked out. “Rehabilitation will be done by various agencies.” HT
Vatican City: Pope Francis today called on the international community to provide “concrete support” to the victims in flood-battered Kerala. Pope Francis prayed for the victims of the flooding at St Peter’s Square, the Vatican News reported.“The inhabitants of Kerala have been harshly struck by intense rains, which have caused flooding and landslides, with heavy loss of human life, with many people missing and displaced, with extensive damage to crops and homes,” he said.He voiced his hopes that “these brothers and sisters” would be supported by “our solidarity, and by concrete support from the international community”.He expressed his closeness to the Church in Kerala, “which is at the forefront of efforts to bring aid to the population”. Pope Francis than led the crowds gathered at St Peter’s Square in prayer for those suffering from “this great calamity”. PTI
Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik today announced additional financial assistance of ₹ 5 crore for Kerala from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund, in addition to ₹ 5 crore sanctioned earlier. He has also ordered polythene sheets worth about ₹ 8 crore to be sent to Kerala.About 244 fire service personnel trained in rescue operations, with 65 boats and other equipment, have been sent to Kerala to help in rescue operations. Patnaik directed Odisha relief commissioner to extend all help to people from the state stranded in Kerala. ANI
New Delhi: Union health minister J.P. Nadda today said his ministry is extending all support to the relief measures in flood-battered Kerala, where 3,757 medical relief camps have been set up. Thousands of people in flood-hit areas in Kerala are battling all odds to survive as the death toll has touched 197 in the past 10 days in the second spell of monsoon fury since 8 August.“We are monitoring the flood situation in Kerala on a regular basis. Secretary (Health) is in constant communication with the state health functionaries and monitoring the situation daily through the disease surveillance network,” Nadda said.The union health minister said that he has spoken to his Kerala counterpart K.K. Shailaja and is personally monitoring the situation. PTI
New Delhi: More than 15,000 people have been evacuated from floods and heavy rains affected areas of Kerala till now and rescue operations have been stepped up in a number of badly-affected locations, the NDRF said today. 58 NDRF teams, with about 30-35 personnel in each team, are “working in difficult conditions and terrain to deal with the worst flood in over a century” in the southern state.“Though the condition is improving in some places as water has started receding, NDRF has scaled up its response in places which are still affected like Thiruvalla and Chengannur (Alappuzha), Aleva (Ernakulum) and parts of Idukki,” a spokesperson said.“Medical assistance has been provided to 3,197 needy persons till now,” he said. PTI
Bengaluru: Joining in relief efforts for the unprecedented floods and rains in Kerala and parts of Karnataka, French sports merchandise retailer, Decathlon Sports India Pvt Ltd has set up multiple collection points at its stores across many cities to help collect material for those affected by the floods.The sportswear company has set up collection points across its stores in Bengaluru, Chennai, Coimbatore and Madurai among other places. The company said that it had set up the collection points for the last few days and had received materials from its customers and others willing to help.“Decathlon’s stores across Kottayam, Vyttilla, Calicut, Bengaluru (10), Chennai (4), Madhurai and Coimbatore (a total of 19 stores) have set up relief material collection boxes for food, water, sanitation, clothing and other essential items,” the company said in a statement on Sunday.Decathlon is among scores of companies joining the concerted effort led by the central and state governments, the armed forces and several other public and private agencies that is trying to help the thousands who have been affected by the floods. “Over 500 boxes will be distributed in Kerala through NGOs,” the company said. The sports retailer added that it had set up a link on its website, which will direct people to the CM Relief Fund for Kerala. Sharan Poovana/Mint
Kolkata: Kolkata football club East Bengal has raised funds for flood victims of Kerala during their local league match yesterday. Man-of-the-match Laldanmawia Ralte donated his entire prize money to Kerala relief fund after the 3-0 win over Aryan Club in the ongoing Premier Division match of the Calcutta Football League.“We held a fundraiser during yesterday’s game for our brothers in #Kerala. The donation box has been handed over to Joby and Co.,” read a tweet from ‘East Bengal Ultras’, the Twitter handle of the club’s fans.The Kerala players in the team C.K. Ubaid, Mirshad and Joby Justin collected donations from the audience after winning the match. “I will remember this for my entire life. When I will become a former footballer and sitting in Kerala, this is a story I will tell my grandchildren,” Justin said.
Dubai: After the UAE, Qatar has announced a financial aid of ₹ 34.89 crore to help provide shelter to those who lost their homes to Kerala floods, a media report said today. The Qatar Charity, through its representative in India, has launched emergency relief for those affected by the huge floods with a total value of half a million riyals during the first stage, the Gulf Times reported.Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani issued a directive to allocate $5 million in aid of those affected by the Kerala floods, to help provide shelter to those who lost their homes as a result of the humanitarian crisis, the daily reported.Qatar’s aid comes a day after the UAE ordered the formation of an emergency committee to provide relief to the victims hit by the Kerala floods. PTI
Several Ayyappa devotees from Tamil Nadu chose to end their pilgrimage at local temples in Chennai and elsewhere in the state as heavy rains and floods made Sabarimala out of bounds. Several devotees who had planned to visit the Sabarimala temple for the ‘Chingam’ monthly pooja season (16-21 August) and later Onam between 23 and 27 August, ended their pilgrimage by offering prayers at the Ayyappan Temple at Raja Annamalaipuram in Chennai. HT
“Experts have opined that water could be stored up to 142 feet... There is no need to fear... The dam is strong...the dam will not be affected even if there is a tremor or quake,” Tamil Nadu deputy chief minister O. Panneerselvam told reporters in Theni on Saturday night, after visiting the Kumuli road, which got damaged due to a landslide.“People of Kerala are our brothers and sisters.. Some people are trying to create misunderstanding between us,” he said.The statement comes following Kerala’s plea Kerala on August 15, for reducing the water level in the Mullaperiyar reservoir to 139 feet over safety concerns in view of heavy inflows. The Tamil Nadu government had turned down the request saying the century-old reservoir was ‘safe’ enough to store water up to 142 feet. HT
Food processing minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal appealed to all food processing industries to come to the aid of people in Kerala. She said the food processing ministry has nominated two officers to coordinate this effort and that the industries could contact them to make the desired donations. The officers are joint secretary Parag Gupta (9650872875) and deputy secretary Atyanand (9891614895). HT
The South Eastern Railway will run two special trains from Ernakulam in flood-ravaged Kerala to Santragachi/Howrah to evacuate stranded people this evening, a spokesman said. On a request from the West Bengal government, SER will run the two trains, which will commence journey from Ernakulam at 6.00pm and 9.00pm today. The railway will also run a special train to Ernakulam from Santragachi, which will leave here at 5.15pm Wednesday, the SER spokesman said. PTI
Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan urged people to desist from spreading false information on the social media as such actions would only affect rescue operations. “Sending erroneous information can only delay rescue efforts. Kindly forward only messages that are valid,” the chief minister’s office said in a tweet.
Massive landslides have occurred at Nelliyampathy hill roads in Palakkad. Road clearing operations underway, reports ANI.
Kerala, the best-performing state on the NITI Aayog health index, is witnessing a complete collapse of healthcare services following the devastating flood. Medicine stocks of at least 481 primary health centres (PHCs), 137 community health centres (CHCs) and 19 dispensaries were washed away by flood waters, said the state health department. (read more)
Dubai: Indian-origin billionaire businessmen based in the UAE have announced ₹ 12.5 crore donation for Kerala relief fund, according to a media report.Kerala-born businessman Yusuff Ali MA, chairman and managing director of Lulu Group, has announced ₹ 5 crore donation for Kerala floods, Khaleej Times reported today.K.P. Hussain, chairman of Fathima Healthcare Group, has donated ₹ 5 crore. He said that ₹ 1 crore out of ₹ 5 crore will directly go to the Kerala relief fund, while the rest will be allocated for medical relief aid, said Khaleej Times. Hussain said that his group has coordinated with the state’s health secretary to send volunteers from its medical faculty. This includes doctors and paramedics being sent to relief camps.Other UAE-based businessmen that have pledged donations to the Kerala relief fund are B.R. Shetty, chairman of Unimoni and UAE Exchange and Azad Moopen, founder chairman and managing director of Aster DM Healthcare. They pledged ₹ 2 crore and ₹ 5 crore, respectively. (read more)
Every schoolchild who lost textbooks in the Kerala floods will be provided new ones free of cost said CM Pinarayi Vijayan today. Thirty-six lakh books have been published and will be provided by the Kerala Books and Publications Society under the direction of the Education Department.“The Onam exams have been postponed,” said Vijayan.
“The fishing community has made selfless contribution to the relief effort. For every boat involved in the rescue and relief operations, the government will provide free fuel and ₹ 3,000 per day. Compensation will be provided for the boats that were damaged or destroyed during relief work. Once their work is complete, the government will take the responsibility of transporting the boats back to where they came from,” said CM Pinarayi Vijayan.
“There are 724,649 people in 5,645 relief camps. 13 deaths today. 22,034 have been rescued so far,” said CM Pinarayi Vijayan. “The waters have not fully receded, there is moderate rain in some parts. Rescue work will continue till things go back to normal,” he added.“Most people will be rescued today and the rescue operation may be completed. But it will continue till the last person is rescued.”
“As water recedes, we are working on disinfection of drinking water sources. Ways to provide food to staying at home and not in relief camps are being worked out,” said Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan at a press meet. A policewoman will be posted at every relief camp, he added. “We must adopt sanitary practices to ward off an outbreak of diseases,” he says.
PM Narendra Modi today spoke with Karnataka CM H.D. Kumaraswamy regarding the flood situation in parts of the state and extended all possible support in the rescue and relief operations. “I pray for the safety and well-being of those in the flood affected areas,” tweeted Modi. ANI
“It is expected that for the next 5 days there won’t be heavy rainfall in Kerala, rainfall will gradually decrease over the state,” news agency ANI quoted Mrutyunjay Mohapatra of India Meteorological Department (IMD) as saying.
New Delhi: The Centre today said a joint team of different aviation-related bodies and Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) inspected the Kochi naval base, a day after announcing operation of commercial flights from the base from Monday to aid rescue efforts in Kerala.Civil aviation minister Suresh Prabhu also said the watch hour at Vijayawada and Begumpet airports has been extended to facilitate relief operations by Indian Air Force aircraft. Watch hour refers the period during which the airport remains open for operation.“A Joint team comprising representatives from DGCA, BCAS, CISF, AAI and Indian Navy carried out inspection of #Cochin Naval Base today to check the feasibility of scheduled operations from there. Steps being taken to start operations with ATR-72 from Monday, 20th August,” the minister tweeted.The base will be used by carriers such as Alliance Air, a subsidiary of Air India, to operate 70-seater ATR aircraft to places such as Bengaluru.
Temporary bridge is being built by Rapid Action Force (RAF) in Palakkad’s Erumachery to block flooding water. Deputy Commandant,RAF Coimbatore,says, “After dam gates were opened, overflowing water damaged roads in the area and entered paddy fields. Bridge will stop the overflow.”
Mumbai: An Indian Coast Guard ship, carrying 65 tonnes of relief material for flood victims in Kerala, left from Mumbai today morning, an official said. The consignment on board the ship, “Sankalp”, includes items donated by people to various NGOs and the Maharashtra government, a Coast Guard spokesperson said. It is expected to reach the Kochi port by tomorrow, he said. Another ship with 50 tonnes of relief material was also scheduled to leave from the New Mangaluru port for Kochi today, he said.Around seven tonne of food items have already been sent from New Mangaluru to Kozhikode and Kochi and about five tonne material has been transported in the ICG aircraft through Visakhapatnam and Chennai, the spokesperson said.“We have to address some distress calls on short notice as well. This morning, the Aluva disaster control room sought medicines and ready-to-eat food items for 2,000 people on an urgent basis. We sent two Chetak aircraft carrying 500 kg material to be air-dropped there,” the official. PTI
Panaji: Goa water resources minister Vinod Palyekar said today that he would give a month’s salary for the Kerala relief fund. “Deeply disturbed by the sufferings of our brothers and sisters in Kerala and as a small contribution towards resettling the lives back and aid in relief work, I have decided to donate my one month salary for Kerala relief work,” Palyekar tweeted.Earlier, Goa tourism minister Manohar Ajgaonkar said yesterday that he would donate a month’s salary to the Kerala relief fund set up to help the flood-affected people in Kerala. Ajgaonkar had also requested his colleagues to join in the effort to help the flood-ravaged state. PTI
A community kitchen has been set up at Cochin University of Science & Technology (CUSAT), Kalamassery by a team of 21 Navy personnel. The kitchen has provided 50,000 meals over last 3 days to flood affected people, with support from students and local administration. ANI
Air marshal B. Suresh today said 288 boats are available at the air force station for Kerala rescue operations, along with 26 helicopters. Many river-rafting volunteers have been brought from Rishikesh. One team each of task force commanders are placed in Trivandrum and Kochi, said Suresh of the Southern Air Command.On Saturday, 18 sorties were carried out and 99 survivors were brought in. Total 526 survivors have been winched up. 29 tonnes of total relief material air dropped, so far, and 47,125kg of food items and medicines distributed, he added. ANI
Home minister of Telangana, Naini Narshimha Reddy, handed over a cheque of ₹ 25 crore as Kerala relief fund to CM Pinarayi Vijayan earlier today. Around 50 RO machines worth ₹ 2.5 crore will be airlifted from Begumpet (Telangana) to Kerala shortly, to provide clean drinking water to the state, news agency ANI reported.
Indian naval ship Deepak disembarked rations and drinking water at Southern Navy Command in Kochi earlier today.
Kochi: Indian Naval Ship Deepak disembarked rations and drinking water at Southern Navy Command earlier today. #KeralaFloods pic.twitter.com/FTmFQOWpYn
— ANI (@ANI) August 19, 2018
Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan has requested people to make valid rescue requests on helpline numbers . “Attention: Efforts are in progress to save even the last person stranded. Many of the requests coming to helpline numbers are for people who are already rescued. Sending erroneous information can only delay rescue efforts. Kindly forward only messages that are valid,” he said on Twitter. HT
Mumbai: Actor Shah Rukh Khan’s Meer Foundation has contributed ₹ 21 lakhs towards relief work in flood-ravaged Kerala. Meer Foundation has made a donation to the Government of Kerala’s Chief Minister Distress Relief Fund, working towards the welfare of victims of floods in the state, according to a statement. Meer Foundation, which has been named after the actor’s father, has been working actively with acid attack victims as well as cancer patients. PTI
Community kitchen setup at Kochi naval base catering to nearly 7000 people affected due to floods.
Kochi: Community kitchen setup at Kochi naval base catering to nearly 7000 people affected due to floods. #KeralaFloods pic.twitter.com/XyAQ1YI9C0
— ANI (@ANI) August 19, 2018
Indian Air Force air drops relief material to people in flood hit areas in Kochi.
Kochi: Indian Air Force air drops relief material to people in flood hit areas. #KeralaFloods pic.twitter.com/GQfVGdjXD3
— ANI (@ANI) August 19, 2018
Union civil aviation minister Suresh Prabhu said that airlines have been asked to maintain optimal fares for flights to and from airports in Kerala.“Scheduled domestic airlines have also been advised to ensure that airfares for flights to/from Trivandrum and Calicut airports in Kerala and nearby airports i.e. Mangalore and Coimbatore are kept at optimal level proportionate to sector distance,” he tweeted.Accordingly, airlines have been advised to cap the maximum fare around ₹ 10,000 for longer routes and around ₹ 8,000 for shorter routes to and from Kerala and nearby airports, he added. HT
New Delhi: The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has set up a task force chaired by its former president Kris Gopalakrishnan to work on relief measures for victims in flood-devastated Kerala, in coordination with the state government.While JSW Group said it has initiated a group-wide initiative wherein its employees voluntarily contribute in cash as well as in kind, TVS Motor Co. has contributed ₹ 1 crore to the Kerala Chief Minister’s Distress Relief Fund.Nissan India has stepped forward to extend service support to flood affected victims in the state, issued an essential safety advisory through its customer care and set up a round-the-clock special desk for faster insurance claims and settlement for flood-affected vehicles. CII said it is in touch with various government agencies and local authorities to assess the situation and initiate most urgent relief operations in the affected areas. “Emergency Response Centres are being set up in the CII offices in Kochi, Trivandrum and Chennai to coordinate and facilitate all efforts,” CII said. PTI
Panaji: Noted ecologist Madhav Gadgil has warned Goa may face the same fate as the flood-battered Kerala if it does not take precautions on the environmental front. Like in some other states, Goa too is witnessing activities which are driven by greed for unlimited profits, said Gadgil, who headed a committee that authored a widely-debated study on the Western Ghats.“Certainly all sorts of problems are beginning to surface on the environmental front in the Western Ghats. Goa, of course, does not have Western Ghats which are so high as in Kerala, but I’m sure Goa will also experience all sorts of problems,” he said. PTI
Puducherry: Puducherry chief minister V. Narayanasamy today urged all MPs from the union territory and MLAs to contribute one month’s salary to the Kerala Flood Relief Fund. The contributions can be made to the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund and it would be forwarded to the Kerala chief minister’s distress relief fund, he told reporters here.The Puducherry government had already announced an assistance of ₹ 1 crore on its part to the fund. Kerala has been ravaged by heavy rains in the second spell of monsoon fury since 8 August, claiming lives of 243 people. PTI
58 teams of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) are deployed across eight districts of Kerala for rescue and evacuation work, and are extending medical emergency aids, says NDRF’s director general. “Now that rain has subsided to some extent, our teams are being relocated partly to worst-affected areas.”
Mumbai: Actor Amitabh Bachchan has expressed concern over the “frightening” situation in Kerala and urged people to contribute to relief fund for the state. “The devastation caused by incessant rain in Kerala is frightening! Hundreds and thousands of our sisters and brothers are in deep anguish!” Bachchan tweeted. “We must do all we can to contribute as much as we can towards the needs of the people of Kerala...I have...You must too...” he added.Bollywood celebrities, including Karan Johar, Varun Dhawan, Hrithik Roshan, Shahid Kapoor, Alia Bhatt and Anushka Sharma, also tweeted support for the state and its people. “The situation in Kerala is critical. Help is required. Please let’s come forward and do whatever we can. Our friends in Kerala need us right now. I have contributed a sum, and I request you all to do whatever you can. God bless #KeralaFloodRelief,” tweeted Roshan.
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