More aid to follow, PM tells Kerala governor
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Thiruvanthapuram: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday told the visiting Kerala governor P Sathasivam that Kerala would get more aid from Centre, meaning the Rs 600 crore released by the Centre was only an advance aid.
Additional funds will be released from National Disaster Response Fund as per laid down procedure, a communique from Raj Bhavan said.
Prime Minster also told the governor that he had been monitoring the situation in Kerala on a daily basis since his visit to the State.
The governor briefed PM about the gravity of the situation, hardships suffered by the people, and the pace of the rescue and relief operations, according to the communique.
On Prime Minister’s direction, the National Crisis Management Committee (NCMC), NDRF, National Disaster Management Authority, and Secretaries of civilian ministries had monitored and coordinated rescue and relief operations through daily meetings from 16th to 21st August.
Kerala Chief Secretary attended these meetings through video conferencing.
Based on these meeting the Centre launched massive rescue and relief operations, “pressing into service pressing into service 40 helicopters, 31 aircraft, 182 teams for rescue, 18 Defence Forces medical teams, 58 teams of NDRF, seven companies of CAPF, Navy and Coast Guard ships and over 500 boats with necessary rescue equipment.”
Following the State government’s submission of an interim Memorandum on July 21, an Inter-Ministerial Central Team (IMCT) visited the state for a spot assessment.
Following this, the Centre released Rs 600 crore in advance.This is in addition to the Rs. 562.45 crore already made available to the State Disaster Response Fund, according to the communique.
Alongside the financial aid, the Centre provided the State “large quantities of emergency food, water, medicines and other essential supplies”. Considering the gravity of the situation, "normal rules and procedures have been set aside".
The governor also met Home Minister Raj Ranath Singh and briefed about the pace of the relief measures in the State.