Faced with unprecedented odds in the wake of the disastrous floods, Kerala is bracing up to face the challenges of reconstruction and restoration of the ruined infrastructure of varied sorts.
The Kerala State Electricity Board has started the restoration works on a war-footing. The state agency will also be joined by expert technicians from agencies attached to the governments of Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Karnataka. In houses where the flood damage has been extensive and it may take much longer to restore power, smaller make-shift mechanisms with a light source and a charging point will be provided.
Private companies like Siemens and Tata power have also chipped in with technical support.
On Monday, the southern state of Telangana donated Rs 50 crore to the Kerala chief minister's disaster relief fund. Telangana has also sent RO machines for purification of drinking water and nutritious food for children in the flood-affected areas. Lakhs of litres of potable water have been brought in by the water wagons of the Railways.
Meanwhile, shipments of various relief materials have reached the state. The relief goods that were offloaded at the Kochi Naval Base, which has been converted into a temporary facility for landing civilian flights, have been exempted from customs duties. Authorities said that even two inflatable boats were released without any charges.
The Union finance ministry has also decided to exempt goods imported or supplied for flood relief operations in Kerala from basic customs duty/Integrated Goods and Services Tax (IGST) till December 31, 2018. A notification to this effect is likely to be issued Wednesday and it will be placed before the GST Council for approval.
A Coast Guard ship carrying relief supplies have reached Kerala from Mumbai and the articles will be distributed with the help of media group Malayala Manorama.
Another set of consignments from the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation has also reached the south-western state. ONGC employees have also contributed one-month salary to aid flood relief in Kerala.
Vice-president Venkaiah Naidu has requested the MPs to contribute generously to the flood relief operations in Kerala. He, along with the Lok Sabha speaker Sumitra Mahajan, asked the parliamentarians to donate a month's salary along with contributions up to Rs 1 crore from their development funds.
