Floods in Kerala: The spread of diseases is a major concern, owing to the lack of clean drinking water.
An all-party meet called by Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan, over Kerala's flood situation, is currently underway. The meeting is being chaired by Mr Vijayan.
United Arab Emirates (UAE) has pitched in Rs 700 crore for relief and rebuilding efforts.
Efforts to restore lives back to normal are underway in Kerala. On Monday, the first commercial flight landed at the INS Garuda Naval Base in Kochi. Phone connectivity and ATM services have been restored in many areas. The state's water authority and electricity board are trying to restore supply in areas that have been without power and tap water for days. Union minister KJ Alphons has reiterated that Kerala is in dire need of skilled workers.
The spread of diseases is a major concern after Kerala floods, owing to the non-availability of clean drinking water. The health ministry has set up 3,700 medical camps across the state and put six specialized medical teams on standby. Trains had earlier delivered RO purifiers and drinking water to the state. As for people still trapped, Drones are being used to assist in reaching people trapped in areas not easily accessible.
Here are the highlights on Kerala floods:
Indians in UAE warned against illegal fund raising
Indian expats enthusiasm to help flood victims in Kerala should not lead them to the wrong side of the law on fund raising in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), India's Ambassador warned, according to news agency IANS.
"The feedback received from the UAE government suggested that some individuals and organisations are involved in fund raising. I have to draw the attention of fellow Indians to the local laws (on fund raising)," Navdeep Singh Suri told the media on Monday.
He said only organisations that have special permission from the UAE's Community Development authorities can collect money and remit it abroad, the Gulf News reported on Tuesday.
Indian Army helps restore water treatment plant in Kerala's Aluva. It restores water supply to around 3 lakh citizens
The Indian Army's official Twitter handle tweeted saying the Engineer Task Force from the College of Military Engineering repaired a water treatment plant in Kerala's Aluva.
The restoration of the water treatment plant enabled water supply to around 3 lakh citizens, according to the tweet.
Navy officials meet Sajita Jabeel,the pregnant lady who was airlifted in Aluva and later gave birth to baby. Commander Vijay Verma said,"It was a challenging rescue. The end-result,a baby being born, it's a joy like nothing else. A sense of personal satisfaction."
Indian Air Force tweets a video of rescue efforts it is involved in
Kerala Floods: The Indian Air Force tweeted saying its C-17 aircraft was loaded at Air Force Station Halwara with relief material for flood affected people in Kerala.
2 teams have been constituted to deal with public health issues in Kerala and the moment the water recedes they will be in action. 10 specialist doctors team is ready. We have also sent our team from Bengaluru to Kodagu (Karnataka): Union Health Minister JP Nadda said, according to news agency IANS
Kerala Floods: Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan holds all-party meet
An all-party meeting chaired by Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan is currently underway in Kerala's capital Thiruvananthapuram.
"Salute the spirit of people of Kerala, Army, Air Force & Navy": Shatrughan Sinha tweets
Shatrughan Sinha in 2 tweets, saluted the "spirit of Kerala, the Army, Air Force & especially the Navy". He also praised "the efforts of Govt. of India & Govt. of Kerala".
A moratorium was announced for bank loans in the flood affected areas, which will be applicable to both commercial and cooperative banks. However, the behavior of some private financial institutions is disturbing. Some have even approached people living in relief camps for collecting interests. Such appalling practices must be stopped: Kerala Chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan
Details of deployment in Kerala. The Navy has scaled down the rescue operations it started 12 days ago. The Chief Minister, has however, assured that rescue efforts will not stop "until the last person stranded is brought out".
Indo-Tibetan Border Police personnel help rescue people in Alappuzha and Pathanamthitta districts in Kerala
Rescue Ops Reach Fag End, Time To Rebuild Kerala. UAE Pools In 700 CroresIt has been a merciless monsoon for Kerala. The torrential rain over the last two weeks took nearly 200 lives, rendered lakhs homeless and sleepless. The floods have caused colossal damage to the picturesque coastal state which depends massively on tourism. The infrastructure has suffered multiple fractures."
Medical teams of the Indian army give medical aid to people in Kerala. The teams moved from Trivendrum and Secunderabad.
"As the flood is receding in Kerala people have to move to whatever is left of their homes. Need ready to eat cooked food, clothes and an army of electricians, plumbers and carpenters," KJ Alphons said
UAE has been one of the first countries stand in solidarity with the people in Kerala. "The people of Kerala have always been and are still part of our success story in the UAE," UAE's vice president Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum had tweeted.
United Arab Emirates (UAE) has extended Rs 700 crores as financial assistance to rebuild Kerala.
Indian-origin billionaire businessmen based in the UAE had announced Rs. 125 million donation for flood relief operations in the deluge-hit Kerala. Kerala-born businessman Yusuff Ali MA, chairman and managing director of Lulu Group, had announced a Rs. 50 million donation for rain-battered Kerala. KP Hussain, chairman of Fathima Healthcare Group, has donated Rs. 50 million. He said that Rs 10 million out of 50 million will directly go to the Kerala Chief Minister's relief fund
Kerala government to recommend a special assembly session on August 30 to the governor. At 4pm today, an all-party meet called by chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan is also scheduled.
Rescue operations underway in Ernakulam District.
Please write to lokerala@gmail.com and/or rckerala@gmail.com for any queries on sending relief material for Kerala Floods: NDMA
Aid consignment to Kerala to be exempted from tax
India stands with Kerala in this hour of need. Central Government is exempting basic customs duty and IGST for the consignments of aid and relief materials being despatched or imported from abroad for the affected people: Piyush Goyal tweeted
As Kerala grapples with the worst floods in over a century, state Forest Minister K. Raju is on a trip to Germany. Mr Raju left for on August 16, when the crisis peaked, to attend seminars along with other party colleagues.
Mr Raju is a CPI lawmaker from Punalur in Kollam district. His constituency is one of the most affected in the floods, that have killed 237 people across the state since August 8.
Amid the fury unleashed by floods in Kerala, fishermen have emerged as heroes. Hundreds of fishermen rushed to flooded areas Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha, Ernakulam and Thrissur districts .with their boats. Chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan had offered Rs. 3,000 to all fishermen and some of them had refused money for saving lives .
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In worst-hit areas, parts of Thrissur and in Chengannur, rescuers are searching houses for bodies of people who died after being trapped in fast-rising floodwater. "They didn't think that it would rise this high - 10 to 15 feet at some places - when the initial warnings were issued," said Ashraf Ali KM, who is leading the search at Mala town in Thrissur.
Air Force's C-130J on Monday, airlifted a team of 96 doctors led by Medical Education Minister of Maharashtra Girish Mahajan, from Mumbai to Trivandrum.
Locate a missing person in Kerala. Check numbers for various phone networks
Amid the ongoing rescue efforts, chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan had warned against the spread of misinformation.
An ex-serviceman was charged for allegedly spreading false information on flood relief work carried out by the government and the military. Unni Nair, working at a firm which takes in retired army personnel, has been booked for spreading false information on the ongoing relief work, the police said.
The man posted a video message on social media, which went viral, soon after which the army tweeted "Imposter wearing Army combat uniform in video spreading disinformation about rescue & relief efforts. Every effort by all & #IndianArmy aimed to overcome this terrifying human tragedy (sic)".
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The centre declared the devastating floods in Kerala a "calamity of severe nature" as the state braced for the gigantic task of reconstruction of destroyed infrastructure and rehabilitation of lakhs of people rendered homeless.
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Kerala government has called for an all-party meeting over flood situation in the state at 4 pm today in Thiruvananthapuram.