BENGALURU: Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy has directed Chief Secretary T M Vijayabhaskar to extended support to flood relief works in Kerala. Following this, the state government has extended financial assistance of `10 crore to Kerala and it will send a team of doctors too.
Expressing shock over the death of 26 people due to floods and landslides in Kerala, Kumaraswamy said the Karnataka government will extend every possible support for flood relief. The CM also called Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan over phone and discussed about flood relief.
Revenue Minister R V Deshpande said a team of 15 doctors will be sent to Kerala and the funds have been transferred.
These apart, eight columns of the Indian Army have been deployed to rescue stranded people in Kozhikode and Waynad, and two columns of Military Engineering Services (MES) from Bengaluru were deployed on Thursday.
Till now, the flood has claimed over 26 lives in Idukki, Malappuram, Ernakulam, Wayanad, Kannur, Palakkad, Kozhikode and several other districts in North Kerala. Also, special engineering task forces from Bengaluru and Hyderabad have been deployed.
IN PICS | Heavy rain triggers landslides in Kerala
Considering the crisis situation, Kumaraswamy ordered the release of 70,000 cusecs of water from the Kabini reservoir in Mysuru. This was done as the rising water level in the backwaters is further leading to excessive water levels in waterbodies in Kerala.
Stranded tourists rescued after 52 hours in Idukki
Idukki: Fifty-two hours after getting trapped inside a private resort at Pallivasal near Munnar due to a landslip near the resort on Thursday, revenue officials rescued 59 tourists, including 22 foreigners, by 6 pm on Friday. The tourists, including foreigners from the US, Singapore, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Russia and UAE, were trapped on Thursday at 7 am after a large mass of earth and boulders tumbled down the slopes of a hill near the KSEB Tunnel, blocking the only route to get access to the resort.
Ration, Aadhaar gone, residents fear identity loss
Kochi: Sunil, a resident of Kuttikkattukara, near Eloor, which has more than 100 households stands helpless as he looks onto his house partially submerged in water. “This is the third time in recent times that our houses are getting submerged. Every time we go back, it take about five days for the house to completely dry,” he said. Almost all houses here are filled with water. Unable to get their ration and Aadhar cards from the houses, they live in constant fear that they may not be able to avail the benefits.