Setting another example, a large of number volunteers from both nearby and far-off places on Tuesday joined hands in a bid to make the flood ravaged Kuttanad habitable.
Around 50,000 people, including 5,000 from outside the district, are participating in the massive cleanliness drive to clear some 55,000 houses of slush and dirt dumped by floods. The volunteers will clean schools, Anganwadis, health centres, places of worship and public places in the region in the next two days. A large number of engineers, IT volunteers and snake catchers have also joined the drive.
Officials said that volunteers from Kasaragod to Parasala were participating in the cleanliness drive aimed at rehabilitating around two-lakh people displaced by the recent floods.
“We have launched the drive in 16 panchayats of Kuttanad. Teams drawn from different areas, including electricians, carpenters, and plumbers, have been deployed. The engineering wing of the local self-government institutions are examining the safety of houses that had remained submerged,” said an official.
The volunteers who converged in Alappuzha town on Tuesday morning were moved to remote parts of Kuttanad in barges, houseboats, motor boats and vehicles. Leading from the front were Finance Minister T.M. Thomas Isaac and Public Works Minister G. Sudhakaran. A team led by Dr. Isaac cleaned a hospital at Pulinkunnu. Mr. Sudhakaran led the clean-up operations at Kainakary. District Collector S. Suhas, representatives of local self-government institutions and government employees actively participated in the first day of the drive.
Along with the cleanliness drive, special teams have been deployed to assess damage in the region. The teams will collect details on drinking water, sanitation, and health as well.
Officials said that preventive medicines had been distributed to all volunteers prior to the cleanliness drive. Besides, high-power pump sets, phenol, and other materials needed for cleaning were also supplied.
The Jail Department distributed 1.17 lakh chapathis and 20,000 plates of curries to volunteers participating in the drive on Tuesday. Officials said that the food was prepared in Thiruvananthapuram and Viyyur Central Jails and Kollam, Ernakulam and Alappuzha district jails. The department also supplied 10,000 litre drinking water.
