New Delhi: Kerala government has started preserving the DNA samples of those killed in Cyclone Ockhi as samples of only 42 out of 76 bodies recovered so far matched with their families. An official said that 144 people were still missing and preserving the DNA samples would help the government in extending financial benefits and compensation to the family members as there were chances of the money being cornered by touts and middlemen.
A high-level team of home ministry visited seven districts in Kerala last week. The team assessed that those killed in Ockhi cyclone were mostly daily wage earners and not traditional fishermen.
The Prime Minister’s Office is monitoring the situation on a daily basis, the official said.
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The official said that ₹24 lakh each is expected to be given as compensation to the next of kin of all people from Kerala who died in the devastation caused by Cyclone Ockhi.
The Central government is also likely to release the final financial assistance to cyclone-hit Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Lakhshadweep by the end of this month.
While the Kerala government will provide ₹16 lakh as compensation to the families of the 76 people whose bodies were recovered, ₹4 lakh will be given by the Central government.
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Besides, ₹2 lakh will be given to the families of the victims under the Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana and ₹2 lakh has already been released from the Prime Minister's Relief Fund, the official said.
Next of kin of those who were missing after the cyclone are also expected to receive around ₹20 lakh, the official said, requesting anonymity.
The exact amount of compensation for those who died in Tamil Nadu is yet to be known. At least 14 people lost their lives in the state during the cyclone.
The official said the Central team, headed by additional secretary in the home ministry Bipin Mallick, which visited Kerala to asses the damage caused by the cyclone, has returned and will submit its report soon.
“After the report is submitted, a final decision on the total amount of financial assistance given to Kerala will be decided, hopefully by January-end,” the official said.
Another team, headed by joint secretary in the home ministry Sanjeev Kumar Jindal, has also returned from Tamil Nadu after making an assessment of the damaged caused by Ockhi.
So far, ₹133 crore each has been given to both Kerala and Tamil Nadu as interim relief after the cyclone hit the two states. ₹15 crore has been given to Lakhshadweep.
Cyclone Ockhi had made landfall in Lakshadweep on December 2 and caused extensive damages to houses, power lines and other infrastructure in the islands and coastal areas of Kerala and Tamil Nadu.