The Kerala Assembly began a special one-day session to discuss the impact of the devastating floods of the past fortnight and the way forward for the State.
Making the introductory remarks, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the State was plunged into a crisis of unprecedented magnitude as a limited area of the State had received three times the rains forecast by the India Meteorological Department within a short span of time. The State was able to keep the loss of lives to the minimum only because of the massive involvement of very ordinary people and diverse agencies, including Central forces, had rushed in to save lives. The loss of property and livelihood options of the people was beyond estimation now.
The Chief Minister said the State was faced with a huge reconstruction challenge, but the State was fully confident about meeting this challenge give the generous outpouring of support from within and outside the country. The State would welcome support from every quarter.
The State would also have to think hard about the kind of reconstruction it should go in for. Any recommendation effort would have to be in tune with the ecology of the State.
"We had overcome Cyclone Ockhi and Nipah outbreak. We are a people who are capable of overcoming this challenge as well," the Chief Minister said.