Thiruvananthpuram, Jan 22 (PTI) Keeping the devastationcaused by Ockhi cyclone in mind, the Kerala government hasproposed 3D mapping along the state's west coast to identifyvulnerable areas and facilitate emergency preparedness to meetnatural disasters.
To ensure quality education, the state governmentproposes to enact the 'Minimum Wages Act' for teachers inprivate unaided schools, Governor P Sathasivam said in hiscustomary address to the Assembly, outlining the policy of theCPI(M)-led LDF government.
"This would help attract the best minds to the teachingprofession," said Sathasivam.
As the ninth session of the Assembly began this morningand the governor rose to address the house, opposition membersraised slogans, holding banners and placards referring to theallegedly shoddy manner in which the disaster was handled bythe government.
However, the governor began his speech by saying he wouldhear them at length after his address.
He said that in the wake of the cyclone, a satellite-based navigation and weather forecasting system was beingplanned in association with the ISRO to assist the fishingcommunity.
"We had the recent experience of cyclone Ockhi sowinghuge misery along the Kerala coast, causing loss of lives andproperties of fisher folk," the governor said.
"Though the state government activated its disastermanagement system as soon as it was alerted, the intensity ofthe rapidly shifting event affected a large number of fishingvessels at sea," he said.
The state government had 'unleashed every capability inits arsenal' to rescue the men and vessels at risk andsucceeded in providing relief to a large number of people.
However, despite co-ordinated efforts, several fishermenhave not returned home, the governor said.
Over 70 persons had lost their lives and 100 fishermenare still missing since Ockhi struck the southern coasts onNovember 29-30 last year.
The governor also said that 'inappropriate'implementation of demonetisation and the GST had resulted in'serious' deceleration of the economy.
Detailing the welfare measures by the government, he saidit was completing 66,939 unfinished houses across Kerala.
"Already 2,000 houses have been completed and the effortis to prepare a comprehensive list of the 4.32 lakh homelesspeople in the state," he said.
Sathasivam said automation, artificial intelligence, nanotechnology and robotics would make many current jobs obsoleteand create new jobs in future.
"Kerala needs to invest in new technologies and borrowthe best from global competition," he said.
During 2018-19, the focus would be on waste, watermanagement and non-conventional energy initiatives, he said.
On the health front, a cancer care strategy involving acare grid for knowledge-sharing and capacity-building will beformulated.
The opposition Congress-led UDF said the governor'spolicy address "lacked vision" as it did not propose anyconcrete measures to tackle unemployment and financial crisisfaced by the government.
Opposition leader in the Assembly Ramesh Chennithala saidthis was a policy address of a government which didn'tfunction.
"Nothing is happening in the state. All sectors are inthe doldrums," Chennithala told reporters. PTI UD JRK LGK APRCHT.
This is unedited, unformatted feed from the Press Trust of India wire.
