Kerala rains: Rajnath speaks to Vijayan; takes stock of flood situation

The home minister assured Kerala CM of all central help for the rescue, relief and rehabilitation of the flood-hit people in the southern state

Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday spoke to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and took stock of the flood situation in the state, officials said.

The home minister, who spoke twice to the chief minister during the day, assured him all central help for the rescue, relief and rehabilitation of the flood-hit people in the southern state.

Singh was apprised by Vijayan about the steps being taken by the state government and central agencies to succour the sufferings of the people, a home ministry official said.
 

During his visit to Kerala on Sunday, the home minister had announced a Rs 1 billion immediate assistance to the Kerala government.

Over Rs 3.2 billion has been released by the Centre to Kerala government as calamity relief fund during 2018-19.

Allocation of the State Disaster Relief Fund (SDRF) for 2018-19 was Rs 2.14 billion of which the central government's share was Rs 1.6 billion and state government's share was Rs 535 million.
 

The balance available in the SDRF account as on April 1, 2018 as reported by the state Accountant General Rs 3.48 billion, another home ministry said.

The first instalment of the central share of SDRF for 2018-19, released on July 20, 2018 was Rs 802 million while the corresponding state share was Rs 267.5 million.

The central government supplements the effort of the Kerala government by providing assistance for relief of immediate nature through the SDRF and National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) as per established procedure, the official said.

Floods have hit 14 districts of Kerala in which so far 187 people have lost their lives during this monsoon season so far. 22 people also went missing.

Nearly 200,000 people have been living in relief camps in Kerala while 14 teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), comprising 399 rescuers and 34 boats, were deployed in the state.