Kerala Government Cancels Onam Celebrations Amid the Worst Flood in the Country

Onam Celebrations – Kerala flood is the alarming concern for quite sometime now and it is deemed as one of the major catastrophes in the century.

In fact, the state hasn’t experienced a catastrophe as large as this so far. The main victims are destitute and the flood-struck areas are being evacuated by the army in lighting speed. The key reason for such an enormous flood is the incessant rains which doesn’t seem to stop until now.

The disaster so far claimed 89 lives and 144 people have been stranded where as the government is accelerating the rescue operations every given day.

As per the recent reports there have been 20 fresh deaths reported which is really making our hearts sink. Government has declared a red alert in the hinterland of the affected areas and the rescue measures are in full swing now. There are at least 14 districts in Kerala where that come under the radar of the red alert ranging from Idduki, Kozhikode, Wayanad, Malappuram, Pathanamthitta, Kannur and Ernakulam and it was extended across the state by evening hours.

This devastation led the Kerala government to cancel Onam celebrations, which is the biggest observed agricultural festival in Kerala and dedicate the 30 crores that it earmarked for the celebrations for Chief Minister’s Flood Relief Operations. The celebrations are mostly carried out for a week which was slated to be observed in the month of August, the Thiru Onam fell in August 25th, but in view of 444 villages being affected by the flood, there was no other way left for the government to cancel it.

The rains were so incessant and threatening that the government had to throw open 27 dams which took a toll on the agricultural scene of Kerala as it spelt ruin on the crops and properties. Aside from those died, 4 are still missing in the worst affected areas. Kerala’s Chief Minister, Pinarayi Vijayan formed a Cabinet sub-committee to look into the quick implementation of the relief and rehabilitation programs. Mr. Vijayan was quoted as saying – ” We have also asked the State Level Bankers Committee to see that when the compensation amount is transferred, they should not levy any charges”.

Central government is also extending the hand of help and Home Minister Rajnath Singh has told the media that he is in constant touch with Kerala CM for updates and 18 teams of NDRF, 9 columns and 8 teams of Engineering Task Force (ETC) of the Army, 22 teams of Coast Guard, 24 diving teams of Navy along with helicopters, aircrafts, boats, equipment, life buoys, life jackets, etc have been dispatched to Kerala so far for aiding the recue operations.

The aftershock of the flood is so massive that Southern Railways and Kochi Metro has suspended their operations and came to a standstill for indefinite period. In fact, the Kochi Airport too is expected to be closed until August 26th as the water levels in the Kochi Airport complex is increasing by the day. Although the Airport was expected to be opened by August 18 but the situation went on worsening.

This is a great step taken by the Kerala government to stop the Onam celebrations and dedicate the money for the rescue purpose. We are in solidarity of those affected.