Kerala Floods: 'Value of destruction more than Kerala's annual outlay'

A delegation from Kerala, led by Rajya Sabha MP A K Antony, meets Rajnath Singh, in New Delhi on Thursday. Pic/PTI

The Kerala flood disaster has claimed 483 lives and the estimated value of destruction "is more than the annual outlay of our state", Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said on Thursday. Initiating the debate at a special one-day session of the Assembly to discuss the disaster, Vijayan said 14 people still remained missing although floodwaters have receded from almost all parts of the state.

He added that at the height of the floods, the worst to hit the state in a century, there were 14.50 lakh people in more than 3,000 relief camps. "At present there are a total of 59,296 people in 305 relief camps. About 57,000 hectares of agriculture crops have been destroyed. An approximate estimate of the loss is more than the annual outlay of our state," he said.

The chief minister said the Meteorological Department gave out adequate warnings regarding the rains but the unprecedented showers led to a deluge. The predicted rains from August 9 to 15 were 98.5 mm but the state got 352.2 mm, he said. Hitting out at the government, senior Congress legislator V D Sateeshan, whose constituency Paravur was submerged, called it "a man-made tragedy".

Low-cost LPG cylinders for state
Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has approved a proposal to replace LPG cylinders, which were lost during the recent floods, at a subsidised rate, a statement from the Union Minister of State for Tourism K J Alphons' office said on Thursday.

Rajnath promises maximum support
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh promised a delegation of Kerala lawmakers "maximum support and help" to the state, which has been hit by the worst floods in a century. Former Kerala CM A K Antony said Singh gave the assurance when the delegation called on him.

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever