Kerala announces financial aid for families of those who died due to torrential rains

As Kerala continues to battle heavy rainfall followed by floods and landslides, the state government has announced to provide financial assistance to the families of those who lost their lives in the rain-related incidents in Kerala. As announced by the Kerala state cabinet on Wednesday, an amount of Rs 4 lakh will be provided to the dependents of those who lost their lives in landslides and mudslides from the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) and the Chief Minister's Disaster Relief Fund.

The Chief Minister's Office further stated that a relief amount of Rs 10 lakh will be also provided to the families affected by the disaster and who have lost their houses including their lands. Furthermore, the exemption of stamp duty and fee for attested copies of documents lost or destroyed in the floods of 2018, 2019, and 2021 has been extended for one more year from the date of the order. 

Apart from that, the State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA) will later issue a list of villages by designating flood eligible villages as flood-affected areas in view of the seriousness of the situation under the Disaster Management Act. 

Accordingly, these villages with families which are affected by more than 15% of the natural disaster will be considered disaster-affected families. Meanwhile, the approach adopted during the 2019 natural disaster will continue to provide assistance for homes and lands which were previously partially or completely damaged. 

The Kerala Cabinet has also announced providing financial assistance for repaying the loan taken by the family of martyred soldier H.Vaisakh. 

Kerala rains and floods

Over the past few days now, Kerala has been receiving heavy rainfall followed by landslides and floods. The serious situation has till now claimed the lives of around 42 people, informed Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. Meanwhile, six people are already missing. 

Apart from that, more than 200 houses and several lands were also destroyed due to rain-related incidents between October 12 and 20 in Kerala. Relief and rescue operations are ongoing throughout the state followed by rehabilitation camps in the required areas. Also, teams of the National Disaster Response Force, the Army, DSC, Navy, Air Force, and others are deployed for carrying out rescue operations. 

(With agency inputs, Image: PTI)