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Centre offers ₹100 crore aid to flood-hit Kerala
Rains and floods claimed 37 lives in Kerala so far, and displaced 101,000 people to relief camps, in north and central districts
Bengaluru: The central government on Sunday announced an immediate relief of ₹ 100 crore for Kerala, where monsoon fury has killed 37 and displaced 101,000 people. After undertaking a day-long aerial survey, Union home minister Rajnath Singh said more money will be provided after a detailed study of the flood-hit parts, he said.
“I understand the suffering of the people of Kerala due to this unprecedented crisis. Since assessment of damages will take some time, I hereby announce immediate relief of additional ₹ 100 crore,” he tweeted.
The relief fell far short of the state’s expectations. Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan had sought ₹ 1,120 crore as immediate relief in a petition on Sunday, against a damage of ₹ 8,316 crore in life and properties as per the state disaster management cell’s calculation. Much of the damage is in the state’s north and central districts.
The rains subsided by Sunday, but almost half of Kerala’s 14 districts are still on high alert, in view of the weather office predicting heavy rainfall until Wednesday.
Earlier in Kochi, Singh called the calamity an “unprecedented crisis” and said the situation in the state was “very serious”, Press Trust of India reported. He added that a fresh central team will be assessing the damages and preparing a report, based on which the centre might consider additional relief. In a phone call to Vijayan on Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had assured all help to mitigate the crisis.
Meanwhile, support is pouring into Kerala from across the world to combat the disaster. Vijayan had made an appeal to people from Kerala across the world to contribute to the disaster relief fund. Indian Medical Association has offered free medical check-ups for flood victims. External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj said that passports damaged in Kerala floods will be replaced free of cost. Karnataka government donated ₹ 10 crore and Tamil Nadu ₹ 5 crore, NRI businessman M.A. Yusuf Ali donated ₹ 5 crore, Kerala’s cinema actors contributed ₹ 10 lakh, Tamil Nadu’s actors Kamal Hassan, Surya contributed ₹ 25 lakh each and political party DMK donated ₹ 1 crore, among others.
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First Published:12 Aug 2018, 02:27 PM IST
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