Kerala rains: Rajnath Singh conducts aerial survey, announces additional relief of Rs 100 cr

Thiruvananthapuram, Aug 12: Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh conducted an aerial survey of flood-hit Kerala on Sunday. He was accompanied by Tourism Minister KJ Alphons and senior officers from the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Centre is extremely sensitive to the needs of the Kerala state at this critical juncture. The first installment of Rs 80.25 Crore of the Central share of SDRF for 2018-19 was released last month only, tweets Home Minister Rajnath Singh #KeralaFloods (file pic) pic.twitter.com/fQAhOe4GaP

— ANI (@ANI) August 12, 2018

In order to supplement the efforts of the state government, just before leaving for Kerala I have approved the release the second installment of Rs 80.25 crore in advance for the SDRF, tweets Home Minister Rajnath Singh #KeralaFloods (file pic) pic.twitter.com/xbyXQuMxdH

— ANI (@ANI) August 12, 2018

I understand the suffering of the people of Kerala due to this unprecedented crisis. Since assessment of damages will take some time, I hereby announce immediate relief of additional Rs 100 crores, tweets Home Minister Rajnath Singh #KeralaFloods (file pic) pic.twitter.com/fwxiQ91JQe

— ANI (@ANI) August 12, 2018

At least 37 people were killed, nearly 54,000 left homeless while dams and rivers overflowed, parts of highways collapsed, and homes were swept away in severe flooding across the state as the heavy downpour continued for the fourth day on Saturday.

Torrential rains and landslides during June-September monsoon season have ravaged farmlands and prompted massive evacuation efforts in Kerala state.

Rajnath Singh was expected to travel to the state on Sunday to take a stock of the relief and rescue operations, Kurian added.

Kerala state authorities have taken the unprecedented step of opening the gates of 25 water reservoirs to prevent potentially disastrous breaches.