Kerala Floods: Pinarayi Vijayan holds all-party meeting

Kochi, Aug 21: An all-party meet called by Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan was held on Tuesday to discuss the rehabilitation of people languishing in the relief camps.

Efforts to restore essential services is going on parallel with relief and rescue in Kerala, where at least a thousand people are still stranded at five villages around Chengannur - a town in Alappuzha.

With floodwater receding in some areas, lack of clean drinking water and diseases due to mosquito infestation, especially in Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram, have become a big concern.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Monday said that over one million people were sheltered in 3,274 relief camps in Kerala. Rains that battered the state for over a week finally provided a relief on Monday.

Vijayan said that the annual outlay for Kerala in the present fiscal was Rs 37,248 crore and the "damages caused by the floods could be as high as the total outlay in a five year plan period".

The Chief Minister said that the total contributions received towards the Chief Minister's Distress Relief Fund so far was Rs 210 crore while another Rs 160 crore had been pledged.

A total of 602 marooned people were rescued on Monday. Meanwhile, the Centre has declared the Kerala flood situation as a 'severe' calamity.