Palakkad: Rescue workers search for the bodies of missing persons after a landslide, triggered by heavy rains and floods, at Nenmara in Palakkad on Friday, Aug 17, 2018. 10 people have reportedly died in the mishap. (PTI Photo)
As Kerala battles its worst flood in nearly a century, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that the state has suffered an estimated loss of around Rs 19,512 crore as per the initial assessment. Admitting that the path to recovery can be long and arduous, the chief minister has urged all to contribute generously to the Chief Minister’s Distress Relief Fund. Nearly 200 have lost their lives in the fresh onslaught of rain and floods since August 8.
After taking stock of the situation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a grant of Rs 500 crore, aside from the Rs 100 crore declared by Home Minister Rajnath Singh last week. Apart from the PM Relief fund and Vijayan personally donating Rs 1 lakh to the CMRDF, various ministers of state, officials, celebrities and people from various walks of life have contributed money to provide relief to the flood-ravaged state.
Here is a list of donations and aids that have been announced for Kerala so far:
1. Home Minister Rajnath Singh had announced Rs 100 crore as immediate relief in assurance to the state due to floods and rains. The Rs 500 crore grant announced by PM Modi earlier today is in addition to the Rs 100 crore.
2. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has announced Rs 10 crore aid to the flood-hit state and also said that one-month salaries of all AAP MLAs and MPs will be given to the state. Congress MPs and MLAs have also followed suit and have pledged to donate one month’s salary. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has also announced an aid of Rs 10 crore and similarly, Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik announced an aid of Rs 5 crore along with 245 fire personnel with boats.
A woman cries as she holds her son after they were evacuated from a flooded area in Aluva in the southern state of Kerala, India, August 18, 2018. (REUTERS photo)
3. Various other states’ chief ministers have announced monetary relief for flood-hit Kerala from their respective chief minister relief fund. Neighbouring Tamil Nadu (Rs 10 crore) and Andhra Pradesh (Rs 10 crore), Puducherry (Rs 1 crore), Jharkhand (Rs 5 crore), Maharashtra (Rs 20 crore), Gujarat (Rs 10 crore), Punjab (Rs 10 crore), Telangana (Rs 25 crore), Bihar (Rs 10 crore), Himachal Pradesh (Rs 5 crore), Uttarakhand (Rs 5 crore), Chattisgarh (Rs 3 crore) Madhya Pradesh (Rs 10 crore), Karnataka (Rs 10 crore) announced as part of donation.
4. While Congress demanded the disaster in Kerala to be termed as ‘national calamity’, former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said he would donate a month’s salary to the flood-ravaged state and appealed to his colleagues in the state to do the same. Tamil Nadu IAS officers have pledged a day’s salaries towards the flood relief in Kerala.
5. Various businessmen and individuals have also been donating monetary funds to help the relief work in Kerala including NRI businessman M A Yusuf Ali who donated Rs 5 crore. The recent 21-year-old student from Kerala who was trolled for selling fishes, Hanan also donated Rs 1.5 lakh towards the Chief Minister Relief fund that she had received from people to fund her studies and take care of her family. Tamil Nadu political party DMK donated Rs 1 crore, as well. BJP MP Varun Gandhi has also donated Rs 2 lakh to the CMRDF and urged other politicians to also contribute to the fund.
6. Celebrities Kamal Hassan, Surya contributed Rs 25 lakh each and actor Sidharth urged people to donate to the Kerala Chief Minister relief fund by participating in the #KeralaFloodRelief Challenge. Tamil Actor Dhanush contributed Rs 15 lakh, while Vishal and Sivakarthikeyan gave Rs 10 lakh each. Telugu actor Vijay donated Rs 5 lakh, another South actress Anupama Parameswaran donated Rs 1 lakh. Tamil actor Vijay Sethupathi donated Rs 25 lakh and actress Rohini donated Rs 2 lakh to the relief fund. Telugu actors Prabhas, Allu Arjun and Vijay Deverakonda have also donated to the flood rescue efforts. According to latest reports, South superstar Rajinikanth has announced that he will donate Rs 15 lakh whereas, director Shankar has assured Rs 10 lakh for the Kerala flood victims.
6. AMMA, the organisation which was under scrutiny recently in Kerala donated Rs 10 lakh whereas Malayalam actors Mammooty and Dulquer Salmaan contributed Rs 15 lakh and Rs 10 lakh respectively. Malayalam film industry superstar Mohanlal gave Rs 25 lakh to the CMDRF. Whereas, actor Jayasurya distributed essentials to the inmates in relief camps in Paravur.
7. A number of Bollywood actors have also urged their fans to contribute to the CM Relief Funds including Sonali Bendre who is battling high-grade cancer and is stationed in New York has asked people to come out and donate. Most Bollywood celebrities took to Twitter to reach out to their fans such as Abhishek Bachchan, Anushka Sharma and Bhumi Pednekar. John Abraham cancelled the success bash of his latest movie, ‘Satyameva Jayate’ and instead strongly voiced his concerns for Kerala’s flood victims.
8. Television giant, Star India donated Rs 2 crore whereas south regional television Sun TV network, made a donation of Rs 1 crore towards the relief fund. Asianet employees have pledged Rs 25 lakh according to a company statement. Star India has also partnered with an NGO called Goonj for supply of essentials.
9. State Bank of India (SBI) has donated Rs 2 crore for the Kerala flood victims apart from ground-level measures to help them. They have also waived off fees and charges on services like loans for flood relief, duplicate passbooks, ATM cards, chequebooks and EMI delays, besides making attempts to restore the working of branches and ATMs in the flood-affected regions of the state.
10. Notably, a temple in Keezhillam, in Ernakulam district has donated its treasury to the CMDRF. The Kaniyasseri Mahavishnu Temple has handed over donations it received in the donation box to the aid fund.
11. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Saturday formed a committee to come together in order to provide relief to the people of Kerala. President His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum took to Twitter to make the announcement and urged “everyone to contribute generously towards this initiative.” The committee chaired by the Emirates Red Crescent (ERC) and will include representatives from the UAE’s humanitarian organisations.