A high-level meeting held here on Friday morning on the floods caused by release of water to the Periyar decided to make swift arrangements for drinking water to be made available in Kochi city and regions along the course of the river.
Pumping of water from the Periyar across Aluva, North Paravur regions was halted on Thursday following severe turbidity.
Briefing the media after the meeting at Aluva, Revenue Minister E. Chandrasekharan said measures would be taken to supply ration to all people affected by the floods, and not just those sheltered in the relief camps operating in the region. In case civil supplies corporation alone could not carry out the task, procurement of food items from agencies outside of the government would be considered.
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“Considering that there would be a huge crowd in Aluva to perform ‘vavu bali’ to propitiate their ancestors on Saturday, there should be extreme caution to avoid untoward incidents,” he said, appealing everyone to go by the instructions of the police and the district administration. The minister said relief operations were progressing in the right direction and that the situation remained under control.