Rs 500-cr aid by Centre, loss in Kerala put at Rs 19,512 cr

Sreevalsan Thiyyadi

State-run buses and private rescue boats on Saturday plied back and forth along the flooded roads of Kerala even as rehabilitation efforts received a fresh impetus with the Centre announcing an interim relief of Rs 500 crore for the monsoon-battered state. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, after an aerial view of the deluge that has killed 200 people this week, also announced Rs 2 lakh for each of the bereaved families and Rs 50,000 for the grievously injured. In Kochi, he was all praise for residents for joining hands to overcome the crisis. He promised that damaged houses would be rebuilt at the earliest.

The Pinarayi Vijayan government put the loss at Rs 19,512 crore and sought an aid of Rs 2,000 crore. “We expect more aid soon,” the CM said in Thiruvananthapuram, emphasising the need for more helicopters and motorised boats to rescue the marooned. Pointing out that rains had damaged stocks in godowns, he anticipated food shortage and sought additional grain from the Centre. 

The weekend saw grocery shops and milk kiosks running out of stock, fuel stations running dry and  ATMs out of cash. Road and rail services have been restored partially. 

With Kerala facing the threat of more rains from a fresh low-pressure trough moving southwest from the Odisha coast, the authorities have placed all but three of the state’s 14 districts under red alert and partly opened some dams. Even as all 39 reservoirs, including the massive Mullaperiyar and Idukki, recorded lower water levels, hill tracts along the Western Ghats continued to report landslips in Wayanad and Pathanamthitta districts. At least 3,000 people are stuck in Palakkad’s upper Nelliyampathi range.

The Muvattupuzha river, 35 km east of Kochi, has changed course along a stretch.

At least 24 more deaths were recorded on Saturday. 

A body was found floating in the submerged bus stand of south-central Kerala’s Tiruvalla town in Pathanamthitta district. Four corpses emerged under a bridge near Chengannur. Some refugee camps saw waterlogging. The water receded in the riverine towns of Aluva (Ernakulam) and Chalakudy (Thrissur). But in the suburbs of Potta, rescuers found two persons dead at a meditation centre.

Meanwhile, the Opposition Congress blamed the state government for not having sought Army help when rains began to look menacing four days ago. Party’s state leader Ramesh Chennithala blamed the delay on the CM’s “false pride" while in Delhi, Congress national president Rahul Gandhi appealed to the Centre to declare Kerala floods as a “national disaster”.

Even as desperate calls for help continued amid disrupted communications, the social media struck notes of optimism. Hashtags suggesting ‘We will overcome’ found currency on Facebook and Twitter. The police cyber cell  announced it would book those raising a false alarm and sharing videos.

The BJP also expressed solidarity with the people of Kerala and said its workers will visit each house in the affected areas as a part of the rehabilitation measures.

Alert in AP, T’gana

• With the Godavari in spate, a red alert has been sounded in East and West Godavari districts of Andhra and Bhadradri district of Telangana
• Water level in Bhadrachalam, Telangana, continues to rise. CM K Chandrasekhar Rao announced Rs 25 crore for Kerala
• Karanataka CM HDK undertook an aerial survey to assess damage in Coorg and announced help TNS

3.14 lakh people in relief camps

Monsoon mayhem

194 persons dead since second spell of rain fury hit Kerala on Aug 8

357 have died since May 29 when south-west monsoon hit the state

58 NDRF rescue teams deployed, highest ever by the agency

40,000 hectares of agricultural land inundated 

1,000 houses fully destroyed and 26,000 partially

Relief on way

Kochi naval air strip to be opened for commercial aircraft from Monday

Truckloads of relief material sent by Punjab; Rajasthan SDRF team leaves for Kerala  

Rainfall to abate from  Aug 20: Weather dept

16,000 km of PWD roads, 82,000 km of local roads destroyed; 134 bridges damaged