Kerala: Clean-up operations gather steam, CM Vijayan to visit relief camps

With flood waters receding from most of the places, the Kerala government has taken up the massive task of cleaning houses and public places filled with slush left behind by the massive deluge that claimed 231 lives, besides causing large-scale destruction.

CM Pinarayi Vijayan will conduct an in-person review of the functioning of relief camps on Thursday. CM will visit the camps in Chengannur, Kozhencherry, Alappuzha, North Paravoor and Chalakudy.

The government has set up a control room to coordinate the cleaning process across the state and the civic bodies have been entrusted with the task of managing the work, official sources said on Thursday.

Haritha Kerala Mission, a mission integrating waste management, organic farming and water resources management, would also coordinate the cleaning process. It will deploy 50 high-power pump sets in different areas by Friday.

Teams drawn from different areas, including electricians and plumbers, have also been deployed. They would work along with more than 50,000 volunteers to clean houses and public places filled with slush and debris dumped by the floods, officials said.

As water level has receded, people have started returning home. However, more than 13.43 lakh people are still lodged in 3,520 camps across the southern state.

The Kerala Water Authority has taken steps to supply drinking water in affected areas, Water Resources Minister Mathew TThomas said.

Of the 1,089 water supply schemes affected due to the floods, more than 800 have started functioning, he said, adding efforts were on to make others also functional. Even as relief materials and donations to the Chief Minister's Distress Relief Fund (CMDRF) pour in, a political row has erupted over accepting foreign aid.

Sabarimala temple remains closed for pilgrims

The Sabarimala temple in Kerala will also remain closed to the public until further notice due to the overflowing Pamba river, authorities said on Thursday. The temple was closed on August 13 following massive floods. According to the temple authorities, the floods have caused damage worth ₹100 crore to its infrastructure.

A. Padmakumar, President of the Travancore Devasom Board which manages the Sabarimala temple, told the media that they had no other option but to close it down. However, all the religious rituals of the temple will be conducted.

Following the decision, several pilgrims from Tamil Nadu who had planned for a pilgrimage have cancelled their trip. The temple is open only during from the middle of November till the middle of January, but for several years now, it is kept open for a few days at the start of every Malayalam month which falls during the middle of every month.

The Left Democratic Front (LDF) government was also drawn into another controversy after the opposition Congress-led UDF and BJP alleged that opening of shutters of 44-odd dams without any precaution and warning was the reason for the massive floods the state witnessed.

However, Vijayan rejected the charges and said the floods and landslides were due to non-seasonal heavy rains experienced by the state from August 8, and not due to the opening of shutters of dams.

With inputs from IANS and PTI