Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami has sanctioned an additional fund of ₹5 crore from the Chief Minister’s Public Relief Fund for flood-hit Kerala. In addition, the State’s Health Department has dispatched medicines and other commodities worth ₹1 crore.
In a statement issued on Saturday, the Chief Minister said Kerala was facing unprecedented heavy rains and several districts were flooded. More than 300 persons had lost their lives.
On August 10, a sum of ₹5 crore was announced from the CM’s Public Relief Fund for rescue and relief measures. In addition, relief materials worth several crores contributed by the public were sent through the respective district administration, he said.
Considering the extent of damage in Kerala, it was decided to sanction an additional sum of ₹ five crore.
The government will be sending relief materials, including 500 tonnes of rice, 300 tonnes of milk powder and 15,000 litres of ultra-high temperature (UHT) processed milk, dhotis, 10,000 blankets for the flood-affected persons. He said essential medicines and teams comprising medical and veterinary doctors would be immediately deputed to the State.
A team headed by the Commissioner for Revenue Administration and comprising two senior IAS officials — Santhosh Babu and Darez Ahamed — would coordinate the relief measures, he added.
Health Minister C. Vijaya Baskar, in a statement said, drugs required to prevent communicable diseases had been dispatched. This included 25 lakh doxycycline tablets, five lakh chlorpheniramine (anti-histamine) tablets, one lakh ointments and other essential medicines were provided.
Apart from this, six lakh gloves, chlorine tablets for safe drinking water and bleaching powder were sent. Medicines worth ₹1 crore and essential materials were sent to Palakkad from Coimbatore and to Thiruvananthapuram from Tirunelveli.
IAS officers of Tamil Nadu have decided to contribute a day’s salary, P.W.C. Davidar, president of TN IAS Officers Association, said in a press release.
