KOCHI: A state control room to track and rescue fishermen and boats caught in cyclone Ockhi started operation on Wednesday in Kochi. The control room will be a part of the Joint Operation Centre (JOC) which coordinates various agencies involved in rescue operation.People from Kerala or other states can contact helpline numbers: 7902200300, 7902200400, 0484 2423513, to inform about missing persons or receive details about those rescued. The control room is being operated by officers from Kerala Police, Fisheries Department, Disaster Management Authority, Revenue, Health, Fire and Rescue Service Department and the Tamil Nadu Government.
Comprising the Kerala Police, Revenue and Fisheries departments, Coast Guard and Navy, the JOC is involved in tracing fishermen from Kerala and other states which went missing in Ockhi.
Postmortem over
The postmortem of four unidentified bodies recovered from the sea was completed at the Ernakulam General Hospital on Wednesday. Samples have were collected from the bodies and would be sent to the state laboratory in Thiruvananthapuram for DNA sampling.
Damage control measures
Twelve tankers have been were deployed by Suchitwa Mission for cleaning septic tanks at the costal belt which was worst-hit in the cyclone. The statement from the district administration said 10 tankers will conduct the cleaning drive at Chellanam while two have been deployed at Nayarambalam, following a direction from the Health Department.To prevent any disease outbreak, lime has been spread at roadsides instead of bleaching powder. Repair work of 50 toilets in houses at Edavanakkad was completed by Wednesday. The District Supply Officer also submitted a report to the District Collector saying essential foodgrain had been supplied to all ration outlets across the district.
Rehabilitation work review
District Collector K Mohammad Y Safirulla chaired a meeting to evaluate the various rehabilitation work going on in the district. He is directly supervising the rehabilitation work and has directed authorities to complete the procedures as soon as possible. He has also directed Revenue officers to get an estimate of the houses which were fully or partially damaged in the district. The unit will visit various coastal locations and submit a report to the District Collector in a week to get funds for renovating the houses.