THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Health and Devaswom Minister V S Sivakumar, who is the minister in charge of Thiruvananthapuram district, has directed the District Collector to constitute a task force comprising officials of various departments to tackle rain-related calamities.
The minister also directed authorities to strengthen the functioning of control rooms at the taluk level and to coordinate the functioning of district-level offices of various government departments. He was speaking at a district-level assessment meeting to discuss rain-related damage, in the presence of MLAs and other elected representatives.
The minister said that proper rehabilitation of people whose houses have been inundated should be ensured. As part of stepping up relief efforts, three camps have been opened at Peringammala. Free ration, drinking water and electricity should be provided to the inhabitants, Sivakumar said.
Sivakumar also asked officials concerned to clean the drains and remove illegal constructions that were causing flooding in Pazhavangadi, Karimadom Colony, Ganganagar, Yamunanagar, Kamaleshwaram and Ambalathara. Relief and rescue personnel should be on standby and equipment such as water pumps and other rescue materials should also be provided, he said.
MLAs Varkala Kahar, R Selvaraj, V Sivankutty, Koyilakkode Krishnan Nair, Jameela Prakasham, Mayor K Chandrika, District Collector Biju Prabhakar, District Police Chief Rajpal Meena, City Police Commissioner H Venkatesh, ADM V R Vinod and Deputy Collector (Disaster Management) P B Pushpalatha were among those who were present for the meeting.
Provide Assistance to Needy: CPM
T’Puram: CPM district leadership has demanded that the government grant compensation to persons who suffered losses due to heavy rains in the district.
CPM district secretary Kadakamppally Surendran in a statement demanded that the government rehabilitate those who were rendered homeless in the heavy rains. Surendran asked the district units of the party to take proactive part in the relief programmes.
Meanwhile, CPI district secretary Prakash Babu asked the State Government to take necessary action to grant compensation for farmers in places such as Vithura and Ponmudi who suffered agricultural loss following the heavy rains.