The state’s residents, politicians and bureaucrats have come together to provide relief and help with rebuilding, but what is striking is the delayed response in the release of funds for rescue and relief operations in the state from the central government.
As Kerala continues to battle floods, the Pinarayi Vijayan government has found itself caught between nature’s fury and the lack of resources to wade through the flooded waters in ‘God’s own country’.
The state’s residents, politicians and bureaucrats have come together to provide relief and help with rebuilding, but what is striking is the delayed response in the release of funds for rescue and relief operations in the state from the central government.
The Centre is assisting the civilian administration in rescue work through deployment of 52 rescue teams of central forces, including units of the Army and the Navy, and has pressed 339 motorised boats, 2,800 life jackets, 1,400 lifeboats, 27 light towers and 1,000 raincoats into service.
But the Rs 100 crore relief fund released by the Centre when the state asked for immediate assistance of Rs 1,220 crore doesn’t seem enough. According to latest estimates, the monsoon-related loss in Kerala is around Rs 10,000 crore.
Meanwhile, it’s ironical that the same central government, which released less than 10 per cent of the estimated damage in Kerala, granted better package for other states that bore the brunt of floods recently – Gujarat, Assam and Bihar – all three where the BJP is in part of the government .
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