Kerala Rains: Over 200 people have died in the floods since August 8.
At least 10 lakh people are currently taking shelter at relief camps across Kerala, which has been ravaged by floods following torrential rains in the state. Kerala Agriculture Minister Sunil Kumar said that at least 50,000 houses are either fully or partially damaged by the floods and landslides witnessed across the state.
Kerala is facing its worst flood in 100 years as water from 80 dams were released, leaving 13 of the 14 districts submerged. Sudden release of excess waters from Mullaperiyar dam by Tamil Nadu was also reasoned as one of the reasons for the floods. On Thursday, Kerala told Supreme Court that the release caused an overload in the Idukki reservoir, which was forced to open all five gates - a development that took place for only third time in history - to control the water level .
The Centre said Rs. 600 crore released two days ago to flood-hit Kerala was only the advance assistance and additional funds would be released when an inter-ministerial team visits the state again and assesses the damage.
Here are the updates on relief work in flood-hit Kerala:
Delhi Police said it will contribute Rs 1 crore to the Kerala floods.
The Health Ministry, led by Jagat Prakash Nadda, on Friday, approved an additional grant of Rs. 18.71 crore under the National Rural Health Mission (NHM) to flood-devastated Kerala. The amount will be disbursed to the village health, sanitation and nutrition committees in the state, news agency ANI reported.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan Addresses Media
Who Told Chief Minister About UAE Offer, Asks BJPThe Kerala unit of BJP today demanded that Chief Minster Pinarayi Vijayan reveal the source about who told him about the UAE offer of USD 100 million or Rs 700 crore for Kerala relief. The statement comes amid a political tussle between centre and state over accepting foreign aid for the flood-hit state. Read
here
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Yet to decide amount, says UAE envoyUnited Arab Emirates has said it has yet to make any official offer and has not fixed any amount as financial aid, even though multiple statements from Kerala ministers refer to the so-called offer.
The UAE's ambassador to India, Ahmed Albanna, reiterated today what his country announced a week ago, that it has formed a committee to ensure the funds reach the right beneficiaries in Kerala.
"We have set up a national committee for aid to Kerala. The committee will work with the MEA (India's foreign ministry) and the embassy to ensure the funds reach the needy," Mr Albanna told NDTV.
JUST IN: Kerala BJP has denied that the UAE offered any aid and said the country did not announce $100 million for the flood rescue, reported news agency IANS.
Kerala's accusations towards Tamil Nadu are false and baseless. If you say, excess water was discharged from one dam (Mullaperiyar) then how did water reach all parts of Kerala? The excess discharge of water from 80 dams caused flood in Kerala: Tamil Nadu CM Edappadi Palainasamy on Kerala's accusations that sudden release of excess water from Mullaperiyar dam by Tamil Nadu was one of the reasons why the flood happened.
BREAKING: Supreme Court orders to maintain water level at 139.99 feet in Mullaperiyar Dam till August 31, reported news agency ANI.
Kerala Agriculture Minister Sunil Kumar spoke with NDTV on the Kerala Floods and the rescue operations. Here are the main pointers from the interview:
On airlifting people:- Airlifting being done because so many villages are isolated. Boats could not reach the villages, air operations are thus still on.
- People not being lifted because they are safe, water level is not coming up but there is a shortage of food and medicines.
- Aerial operation is dropping food and water to the areas.
On estimated number of people in rescue camps and number of stranded people:
- There are more than 2 lakh people in Thrissur relief camps.
- More than 42 villages are under water.
On the new development in the rescue:
- Militaryalready deployed to rescue people from isolated areas and more rescue camps are required in Thrissur and we are working towards it
On the 10 lakh people in camps:
- Food supplies, medicines are being provided. A lot of help is coming from all over the country. The main problem is the camps are completely isolated. Water is almost 7 feet high and thus we could not reach there. So we moved to areas with 5-5 and half feet water so that the people could be moved there. This is the current operation we are working on.
On Rs 500 crore grant for Kerala:
- The amount is very less as total losses are more than 20,000 crore. As per law, government should provide 1200 crores for natural disaster. So 500 crores is a very small amount. We are asking for 2000 crores... But government is helping and supporting with military.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan sent out a tweet ahead of Onam asking everyone to come together to help those in Kerala floods. Hi tweeted:
"Let's celebrate this Onam by bringing help to those among us who are suffering. More than a million of our people are in relief camps. We have together survived the worst disaster in our State's history. Let us also set an example in rebuilding efforts."
Electricity connections in most of the affected areas have been restored, the chief minister's office said. "21.61 lakh connections have been restored, out of a total of 25.6 lakh service connections which were disrupted. The sanitation drive is on and 37,626 wells and 60,593 houses were cleaned today," Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan tweeted from his official handle.
The Centre said Rs. 600 crore released two days ago to flood-hit Kerala was only the advance assistance and additional funds would be released when an inter-ministerial team visits the state again and assesses the damage.
On Thursday, Kerala told Supreme Court that the release caused an overload in the Idukki reservoir, which was forced to open all five gates - a development that took place for only third time in history - to control the water level.
Kerala is facing its worst flood in 100 years as water from 80 dams were released, leaving 13 of the 14 districts submerged. Sudden release of excess waters from Mullaperiyar dam by Tamil Nadu was also reasoned as one of the reasons for the floods.
Kerala Agriculture Minister Sunil Kumar said that at least 50,000 houses are either fully or partially damaged by the floods and landslides witnessed across the state.
At least 10 lakh people are currently taking shelter at relief camps across Kerala, which has been ravaged by floods following torrential rains in the state.