3.42 lakh still in camps; Pinarayi reviews situation
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM:More people left relief camps for their homes on Monday even as the Chief Minister instructed district collectors to ensure that as many of the camps are vacated before the schools reopen on Wednesday.
As on Monday, 3,42,699 people remain in 1,093 relief camps across the state. The death toll since August 8 stands at 322 people, the Chief Minister’s Office said after a review on Monday. The Chief Minister, who held a video-conferencing with the district collectors earlier in the day, instructed them to ensure the interim relief of `10,000 for the camp victims are disbursed at the earliest.
The string of bank holidays during Onam has prevented officers from handing over the money, the government said. The government has also decided to speed up measures to ensure that insurance claims, especially that of vehicles damaged in the floods, are settled as early as possible. Chief Secretary Tom Jose will convene a meeting with insurance companies in this regard. District Collectors have been asked to organise a survey of houses that have been completely destroyed by the floods.
Families left homeless should be found alternate accommodation in marriage halls, auditoriums, and, if possible, in unoccupied houses. The district collectors have also been asked to finalise data on the flood-related damages and take steps to clean the schools that doubled as relief camps by Wednesday.
By September 3, the government hopes to launch steps to replace documents and certificates damaged or lost in the floods. While water supply has been restored in most of the affected regions, water kiosks are being set up in Kuttanad and Chengannur as an interim measure. The disposal of animal carcasses, one of the major challenges faced by district administrations and local bodies, is also nearing completion. So far, the carcasses of four lakh birds, 18,532 small animals and 3,766 big animals have been disposed of.
Power matters
25 lakh electricty connections were disrupted across the state in the rain and subsequent flood 55,725
number of electricity connections which remain to be restored
On Sunday alone, 39,590 connections were reinstated, the KSEB said.
Majority of the work remains in Alappuzha district: 37,682 connections in Alappuzha and 3,605 in Harippad. Connections pending include 5,950 in Irinjalakuda and 4,554 in Pathanamthitta.
If the KSEB has succeeded in restoring power supply in most of the flood-hit regions at such short notice, a share of the credit goes to 120 electricity workers from Andhra Pradesh. After helping their KSEB counterparts, they returned home on Monday.
Workers from Andhra were rushed to Kerala on August 17. Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu also assisted KSEB with ‘Mission Reconnect’ campaign launched to put the power sector back on its feet