Kerala Floods: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan Seeks Rs 2,600 Crore Special Package From Centre

The incessant rainfall has led to the destruction of about 20,000 houses and damaged 10,000 km of roads in the state

New Delhi, Aug 21: Kerala on Tuesday has sought Rs 2,600 crore special package from the Centre. The state has recently witnessed floods which have left 223 dead and forced over 10 lakh people out of their homes. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had chaired a meeting of the state cabinet in the day.

In the meeting, Vijayan had said a special session of the state assembly has been convened on August 30 to discuss the situation arising from the calamitous floods, the worst in a century. The chief minister had earlier said the state had suffered damages of about Rs 20,000 crore. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and two other union ministers have collectively announced interim assistance of Rs 680 crore for the state so far.

Vijayan said Kerala would also ask the Centre to hike the limit of loan it can secure from the open market for the massive rebuilding exercise. CM said the United Arab Emirates has promised an assistance of USD 100 million (About Rs 700 crore) for the state’s reconstruction.

The state-level bankers’ committee has also decided to declare a moratorium on repayment of the agricultural loan for a year.

Meanwhile, the Centre has also proposed to set up a Cyclone Warning Centre in Thiruvananthapuram, Secretary in the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) M Rajeevan said. The cyclone centre is expected to come up in another one month, he said.

At present, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has cyclone warning centres in Chennai, Bhubaneswar, Vishakhapatnam, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, and Mumbai.

“South India was managed by the Chennai (Met) office. Now, the Thiruvananthapuram centre will cater to the needs of Kerala and Karnataka and it will be equipped with state-of-the-art infrastructure, including forecasting tools, to issue weather warnings and coastal bulletins (for fishermen etc),” he said.

Road and rail services have resumed in most parts of the state but clearing houses of the debris washed up by surging flood water is a daunting task. Vijayan said a massive action plan is being put in place for that.

Even though the rains have finally eased up in the state, thousands are still feared to be trapped, awaiting relief and rescue. The total loss Kerala has suffered in the floods is estimated to be over Rs 20,000 crore. The incessant rainfall has led to the destruction of about 20,000 houses and damaged 10,000 km of roads in the state since August 8.

(With PTI inputs)