Teaming up with the Centre which extended liberal support in the form of additional aircraft, personnel and other resources, the Kerala government has mounted a massive rescue operation in the worst-effected Pathanamthitta district in south Kerala and other parts of the State on Thursday.
Hundreds marooned in their homes in different parts of Pathanamthitta were rescued by personnel of the Indian Army, Navy, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and the State police, fire force and the State civil service besides the local samaritans through the day. However, distress calls continued to pour in from the stranded persons as well as their relatives and well-wishers in different parts of India and abroad, indicating that the rescue efforts left much to be desired.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, who reviewed the situation at an emergency meeting at his office this morning, reached out once again to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitaraman, urging them to send more aircraft and personnel of the Army and Navy for the rescue operations. Reports from New Delhi said the Cabinet Secretary convened a high level meeting on the Prime Minister's instructions where it was decided to move more personnel and resources of the Army, Navy, Air Force and the NDRF to Kerala.
The Chief Minister said that the Centre had taken steps to press into service 30 helicopters of the Air Force and Navy by evening and to keep four more as standby at the Sulur airbase. Two Coast Guard ships were already on their way to Kochi. The Armed forces would supply dried food in packets to the flood victims while the Railways would provide drinking water packets. The situation in the flood hit areas was grim, but not alarming. However, people living on riverbanks would do well to move at least one kilometre away, he told reporters after the review meeting.
Death toll mounts
Meanwhile, the death toll in the current spell of rains continued to climb with as many as 50 odd deaths being reported since last night. In Palakkad, eight members of two families were killed at Avalassery close to the Pothundi dam when a massive amount earth fell on their homes early this morning. In Kozhikode rain-induced landslides claimed the lives of five persons at Urkkadavu and Koodaranji. In Thrissur, seven persons were killed in a landslide at Kuranchery, two each at Poomana and Kuthiran and one each in Athirappally and Kuttoor. In Kottayam, four were killed, three of them in a landslide at Teekoy and one by drowning at Vaikom. One person is missing at Teekoy.
As many as 15 people lost their lives in Malappuam district. Five more are feared buried under a massive trail of mud and soil at Odakkayam near Vettilappara in Oorngattiri panchayat of Eranad taluk. A joint move by the revenue, police and Army personnel is on to salvage the bodies trapped under the rubble. Eranad tahsildar said two families had been wiped out along with their houses at Odakkayam. When nine people were buried alive at Peringavu on Wednesday afternoon, a six-year-old boy and his parents were killed at Kaithakkunda near Pulikkal. One woman was killed at Kolappad near Edavanna. A search is on for the body of a youth who went missing in a swollen canal at Kizhisseri.