KOCHI:Following the order from the District Collector to dispatch the flood relief consignments piled up at Ernakulam Junction and Town railway stations to the relief camps, the officials have swung into action. “We are currently sending the flood relief items to the collection centres at Kalamassery, Gandhinagar and Kadavanthra.
“The items pending at South and North railway stations have been sent to the centres and our volunteers are waiting for the items,” said Abraham Fitzgerald, Deputy Collector, Vigilance, Ernakulam.
The dispatching of items from Ponnurunni marshalling yard has also gained momentum with 10-15 lorries carrying the materials every hour.
Appreciating the efforts of volunteers, Abraham said, “With the surplus number of volunteers, the dispatching process is happening smoothly now. They are ensuring the movement of materials from collection centres to various relief camps. As of now, we have enough human resource for the existing work”
The railway authorities also seem happy with the effort of officers in sending the consignments from the station. “We had almost 37 parcel vans together and most of them are cleared now. We are expecting the process to be completed by tomorrow,” said R Harikrishnan, area manager of Southern Railways.
Express had reported the piling up of relief materials at the aforementioned places on August 28.
Volunteers throng collection centres
Despite the reopening of schools and offices, collection centres are witnessing a high number of volunteers for flood-relief services.“We were expecting a shortage of individuals after Onam vacation, but literally having a flood of volunteers now. As we are issuing duty cards, students are ready to attend the camps by sacrificing their attendance. In addition, members of Kudumbasree, various non-governmental organisations (NGOs), etc. are also joining the relief work,” said Beena, tahsildar, Kakkanad.
The extension of reopening of the Kerala Technical University (KTU) to September 3, has also come as a boon for relief work.
“Due to the KTU notification, engineering students are readily available for the work. We are anticipating more people for the material segregation camp at Maharaja’s College,” said Sreeram, an Infopark employee heading a 15-member volunteer team that loads materials from Ernakulam Junction. Although they are having a surplus of volunteers, revenue officials are welcoming more persons into their centres.
“Those who are interested to join the Community Hall, Kakkanad Junction can register at Kakkanad village office. We are currently having two shifts (9 am - 3 pm and 3 pm - 8 pm) and will be issuing badges for registered volunteers,” said Lincy, a revenue officer.
Interested individuals and organisations can contact the following numbers: 9446092092, 7902200300 for further information.