Cyclone Ockhi: Rs 24 lakh compensation for kin of dead in Kerala

A candlelight vigil on Thiruvananthapuram’s Shangumugham beach in memory of the fishermen. (Express File Photo: Sreekesh Raveendran)

The families of 76 victims of Cyclone Ockhi in Kerala are likely to get at least Rs 24 each as compensation, according to a home ministry official.

The next of kin of the 76 victims — these are the ones whose bodies have been recovered — will each get Rs 16 lakh from the Kerala government, an expected Rs 4 lakh from the Centre, and Rs 2 lakh under the Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana, while Rs 2 lakh has already been released from the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund, the ministry official said.

In addition to the 76 whose bodies have been recovered, 144 people are missing since the cyclone. The next of kin of these families are also expected to receive around Rs 20 lakh, the official said.

The Centre is likely to release the new final financial assistance to cyclone-hit Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Lakshadweep by the end of this month.

The official did not specify the compensation to the families of victims in Tamil Nadu, where at least 14 people lost their lives to the cyclone.

The official said a central team headed by additional secretary (home ministry) Bipin Mallick, which visited Kerala to asses the damage caused by the cyclone, has returned and will submit its report soon. “After the report is submitted, a final decision on the total amount of financial assistance given to Kerala will be decided, hopefully by January-end,” the official said.

Another team, headed by joint secretary (home) Sanjeev Kumar Jindal, has returned from Tamil Nadu after making an assessment of the damage there.

So far, the Centre has given Rs 133 crore each to Kerala and Tamil Nadu as interim relief after the cyclone hit the two states, besides Rs 15 crore to Lakshadweep.

Cyclone Ockhi made its landfall in Lakshadweep on December 2 and caused extensive damage to houses, power lines and other infrastructure in the islands and coastal areas of Kerala and Tamil Nadu.