Amit Shah to survey only flood-hit Karnataka, not ravaged Kerala

In a show of complete partisanship, the Central government and the Union Minister of Home Affairs Amit Shah will be conducting an aerial survey only in Karnataka. Additionally, the ministry had suggested that Kerala would be given ‘liberal support’ from the Centre. However, the ‘liberal support’ turned out to be Rs 52.27 crore.

Shah would be surveying Karnataka's Belgavi district, which has been the worst hit. It could not be ascertained if Amit Shah’s decision to not survey northern Kerala, which has been ravaged due to the floods, has anything to do with the arrival of Wayanad MP and former Congress president Rahul Gandhi. Wayanad has been one of the worst hit districts in the 2019 floods.

The Kerala governor P Sathasivam stated in a press release that Home Minister Amit Shah had informed him that the Centre would consider providing a "liberal support" to Kerala in view of the flood situation in the state.

However, Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan stated that the Centre had allotted Rs 2,107 crore to Kerala last year. “We had allotted Rs 2,107 crore (to Kerala) last year. The state is yet to utilise around Rs 1,400 crore,” said Muraleedharan.

Ground Reality in Kerala

More than 1.65 lakh people have been shifted to 1,318 flood relief camps across the state. According to official reports, the death toll stands at 19 in Malappuram, 14 in Kozhikode and 10. in Wayanad. Five people died in Kannur, four in Idukki, three in Thrissur and two in Alappuzha..

A red alert has been issued by the Indian Meterological Department (IMD) on Sunday for three districts - Wayanad, Kannur and Kasaragod. This means heavy rains will continue to ravage north of Kerala more than the southern parts of the state. However, according to unofficial reports, the death toll stands at 65.

Rescue operations began at Wayanad's Meppadi and Malappuram's Kavalappara – the two villages which have been devastated by landslides. A team of 30 Army personnel from the Madras Regiment reached Kavalappara on Sunday after it was known that more than 65 people are feared trapped in the landslide. The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and Fire and Rescue personnel pulled out nine bodies from the debris on Saturday, but escue operations had to be halted due to the frequent landslides.

As transportation to regions in Wayanad and Malappuram has been stalled, the supply of materials to the camps has been affected. Medicines had to be airdropped on Saturday.

On Saturday, the waters began to recede in Malappuram and Wayanad. Although the shutters of the Banasura Sagar dam in Wayanad were opened on Saturday, less water was released.

Several trains heading to Kerala have been stopped or diverted for the fourth consecutive day. As many as 20 trains have been cancelled under the Palakkad Division alone. Railway tracks have been damaged between several routes.