Kannur, Thrissur, Wayanad, Palakkad, July 17 HEAVY rain and wind continued to whiplash North Kerala on Friday even as a number of roads and villages in the hilly areas remained submerged in flood waters.
Kannur
Three more deaths were reported in the district here even as heavy rains continued to wreak widespread destruction on Friday.
P V Kunhiraman, 53, headmaster of the Mailampaty GLP School, was killed as he fell into a well at Thimiri. He was a native of Kanhangad. His body was taken out from the well by the Fire and Rescue Service personnel later. In another incident at Payyanur, an 80- year-old man, Kunhambu Poduval, died after she fell into a well near his house on Friday morning.
An aged man was swept away by a strong current of water at Perunthatta near Payyanur on Friday. The body of 70-year-old Kadirummal Ambu was recovered later.
Schoolchildren and students of various educational institutions were spared the agony of venturing out since the District Collector had declared Friday a holiday for all educational institutions except professional colleges.
A number of roads, especially those in villages and low-lying areas, were flooded, bringing road traffic in many places to a grinding halt. Thalassery town was virtually submerged in water, almost paralysing vehicular movement.
The Mattanur-Court Road was damaged as a result of the rain. A number of houses in the region were destroyed in the torrential rain over the past couple of days.
Meanwhile, traders under the banner of the Vyapari Vyavasayi Ekopana Samithi blocked roads at Mattanur on Friday, alleging that the authorities had taken no care to cut down trees on road sides, thus posing a serious threat to lives. They cited the death of an autorickshaw driver on Wednesday when a tree fell on his vehicle.
Power supply and telecommunication links are yet to be restored in many parts of the district. According to the district authorities, the loss suffered as a result of the rain and floods is being assessed.
Thrissur
Heavy rain in the last two days claimed the life of one person; another missing, engulfed hundreds of houses and caused large-scale destruction of crops in the district.
Official sources said that at Pulluttu near Kodungallur 65-year-old Unnicheckan was dead after getting electric shock from a cable.
At Cheruthuruthy in the district, five-yearold Nakulan was found missing in the strong current of the overflowing canal near his house.
Wayanad
The district has incurred a loss of Rs 34.9 crore on account of the rains in the past four days alone, Revenue Minister K P Rajendran told reporters here on Friday.
After visiting the flood-hit areas, relief camps and families of victims, he said the final estimate could be much higher. Revenue officials were directed to assess the exact loss to all sectors and to furnish a detailed report to the Collector within a week.
Those who refuse to shift to relief camps from trouble-prone areas will be relocated compulsorily, Rajendran said.
He directed the Animal Husbandry Department to set up temporary sheds to accommodate the cattle of these families. “Many families refuse to shift because these animals are their lone source of income and they fear for their safety in their absence,” he said.
The Cabinet will take a decision on the amount of free ration to be supplied to the affected. The Revenue Department will make available vacant government buildings for relief works, he added.
Volunteer groups who render meritorious service to people, such as the Jeevan Raksha Samithy at Thurkky, would be given all support from the government, he said. A fund would be mobilised for rehabilitation of tribal communities living in low-lying areas of the district.
A team of experts drawn from such institutions as the Centre for Water Resources Development Management, Land Use Board, Kerala Forest Research Institute and the UNDP project will visit the district to analyse the reasons for the disasters.
Asked about the illegal granite quarries operating in areas where landslides have occurred, Rajendran said “our officials will take remedial measures in no time”.
M I Shanawaz MP, MLAs P Krishnaprasad, M V Shreyamskumar and K C Kunhiraman, Additional District Magistrate K Vijayan who is standing in for the Collector, also were present.
Rajendran also attended a meeting of people’s representatives and officials at the Collectorate. In the morning, he visited relief camps at Mothakkara Government LP School, near Vellamunda, and handed over a cheque for Rs 1 lakh to the relatives of Keera, who was killed in the landslide at Pulinjal on Wednesday.
Rajendran also visited the landslide site in Mooppainadu panchayat, the relief camp at Varadoor and the spot from where Shinoj, a youth of Chariamkolly, was reported missing on Thursday night.
Palakkad
The rain continued to lash the district on Friday causing damage to houses, crops and roads. The total loss here due to the south west monsoon since May has been estimated at Rs 4.83 crore, says District Collector, A T James. The losses are related to agriculture, houses and public property. The loss to agricultural crops amounted at Rs 3 crore, houses has been damaged to the tune of Rs 16 lakh and Rs 1.67 crore worth of public property has been damaged.
Crops have been destroyed in an area of.
