Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan announces relief amid rains

The flood situation in Kerala remained grim with vast swathes of land submerged in Idukki Ernakulam an Thrissur districts but there was some respite from rains on Saturday even as the government announced Rs 10 lakh each for the families which lost their homes and propertiesChief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan who undertook an aerial survey of the worst affected areas of Idukki Wayanad and other districts also announced a compensation of Rs 4 lakh each for those who lost their homesWith the state reeling under the flood waters causing widespread damage and destruction the Centre deployed 14 National Disaster Response Force NDRF teams comprising over 400 rescuers and 31 boats in Thrissue Ernakulam Alappuzha Wayanad Kozhikode and Idukki districtsThe teams assisted the state administration in recue and relief operations as well as distribution of essential relief material along with providing medical support Additional teams have also been kept at standby in the nearest NDRF battalion in Arakkonam near Chennai in case of urgent mobilizationHome Minister Rajnath will make an aerial survey of the affected areas along with Tourism Minister KJ Alphons who hails from Kerala Rain gods appeared to show some mercy as the inflow into the Idukki dam on Saturday came down marginally and stood at 240040 feet against 240176 feet on Friday eveningIt brought cheer to those living in and around Cheruthoni town downstream of Idukki dam and also those in Aluva Ernakulam and Thrissur districts wich were worst hit by the surging Periyar river The rains have slowed down in and around the Idukki dam since last night The water level in the dam has also come down said State Power Minister MM Mani after a review meeting at IdukkiSo far things are fine and everything is going on as planned The water that came down the five floodgates barring at Cheruthoni has not caused any major crisis said Mani who is monitoring the situation from Idukki The Cheruthoni bridge continued to be submerged It had come under severe stress with uprooted trees hitting the bridgeOn Saturday evening the inflow into the dam came below 600 cubic metres of water per second while the outflow through the floodgates is 750 cubic metres per second Authorities on Friday had feared that parts of Ernakulam and Thrissur districts would be submerged following the opening of all five floodgates However this did not happen as the dam water entered the tributaries of the Periyar riverAccording to sources if the water level in the dam comes down to 2400 feet it was likely to bring down the outflow through the five shutters as well to around 500 cubic metres per second On Saturday morning a team led by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan accompanied by leader of Opposition Ramesh Chennithala Chief Secretary Tom Jose and Kerala Police chief Loknath Behra made an aerial survey of the worst affected districtsEven though their first stop was planned at Idukki Vijayan said they could not land there due to bad conditions which forced them to travel to Wayanad Wayanad had come under severe stress on account of the rains that has led to largescale destruction of property due to landslides Around 10000 people in the district are living in some 200 relief campsLater Vijayan aannounced a compensation of Rs four lakh each to all those who lost their homes while those who had lost both their homes and other properties would get Rs 10 lakh Each person put up in relief camps would receive Rs 3800 Vijayan said He later arrived at Ernakulam and visited two relief camps and assured the people of all help In and around Ernakulam there are 78 relief camps that house 10000 peopleLate last night at a camp near Ernakulam superstar Mammootty came and spent halfanhour at relief camps He later assured the authorities that he would be extending help to the affected The floods have claimed 30 lives so far The deaths were reported from Idukki Malappuram Kozhikode Ernakulam and Thiruvananthapuram districts Vijayan later appealed to the Kerala diapsora to contribute generously to the Chief Ministers Distress Relief FundAlso Read Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan Announces Compensation For FloodAffectedCatch up on all the latest Crime National International and Hatke news here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updatesThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever