Students offer prayers for the Kerala flood victims at a school in Agartala, capital of the Northeastern state of Tripura, India, on Aug. 21, 2018. The Indian government has declared the devastating floods in southernmost state of Kerala as a calamity of severe nature, officials said Tuesday. (Xinhua/Stringer)
NEW DELHI, Aug. 21 (Xinhua) -- The Indian government has declared the devastating floods in southernmost state of Kerala as a calamity of severe nature, officials said Tuesday.
"Keeping in view intensity and magnitude of the floods in Kerala, the government has declared this a calamity of severe nature," Indian vice-president M Venkaiah Naidu said.
"We appeal our members of parliament to contribute generously from their funds towards relief and rehabilitation."
The Indian federal government in an affidavit to the high court in Kerala stated that it considers the devastating floods in Kerala as a calamity of severe nature.
"In the affidavit it has been stated by the government that it is treating the flood situation in the state as a disaster of serious nature and has categorised the same as 'L3 Level of disaster' under the national disaster management guidelines," an official said.
Experts said the declaration would enable the state to get greater monetary and other assistance from the federal government.
Once a calamity is declared "severe", relief in repayment of loans or grant of fresh loans on concessional terms are also considered.
Reports said relief materials, including provisions, water, medicines and fuel are arriving at the Kochi port from different parts of India.
Local government officials said they were trying to restore mobile phone connectivity, electricity supply and tap water in the affected areas. The movement of traffic is also being restored.
"Commercial flight operations started from the navy airstrip in Kochi and trains have started running between state capital Thiruvananthapuram and Ernakulam," an official said.
So far the Indian government has announced an assistance of 85.9 million U.S. dollars for the battered state.
Besides, help from other states and people is continuously pouring in.
Reports said the death toll since the beginning of monsoons has risen close to 400 in the state.
The Kerala government has pegged the losses to the state through damage to infrastructure and property at 2.87 billion U.S. dollars. However, the industry estimates the losses by way of loss of working days, cancellations and drop in economic activity to be close to 3.5 billion U.S. dollars.
On Tuesday, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has offered to extended 100 million U.S. dollars of assistance to rebuild the flood-ravaged state.
Kerala has 44 rivers flowing through it. Experts said floods in Kerala would not have been so severe if local authorities had gradually released water from at least 30 of its dams.
