Kerala will be able to survive any crisis after COVID-19: CM Vijayan

Thiruvananthapuram, May 23: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Saturday said the state would be able to survive any other crisis after COVID-19 as it was in the forefront of developing innovative wasy to fight the pandemic.

"Kerala is in the forefront of developing innovative ways to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic and will be able to overcome any crisis which might come. Most of the cases currently being reported in Kerala have come from outside the state. We must not alienate them. This land belongs to them too," Vijayan said, speaking at the first edition of #AskTheCM organized by Twitter India.

He was responding to queries on the return of Keralites from abroad, their employment issues, upcoming monsoon and climate change,chances of a natural disaster and preparedness of the state to deal with it, the agriculture sector, the prerequisites of the lockdown relaxations, among others.

Meanwhile, CM Vijayan has also urged the Railways to inform the state beforehand when special trains are allottedand the details of the passengers travelling.

The request was made by Vijayan in an e-mail to Railway Minister Piyush Goyal. It was essential to have thelist of passengers, details regarding their address, telephone numbers, as otherwise it would adverselyaffect the government's fight against COVID-19, he stated.

Kerala was not informed when a special train from Mumbai left for the state capital on May22, he said. Information about the passengers was needed to make arrangements for health check-upand their onward journey and quarantine facilities,he said.

Kerala has seen a huge surgein coronavirus cases on Saturday with 62 fresh cases, including 49 returnees from abroad and other states, being reported.