Tovino Thomas leads voter turnout as Kerala polls heat up
Actor Tovino Thomas casts his vote in Thrissur as Kerala records impressive voter turnout. Key constituencies see fierce electoral battles in the second phase of Lok Sabha elections.
Union minister of state for Home Affairs, Kiren Rijiju on Saturday said the relief operations in Kerala’s flood-hit areas are satisfactory.
Speaking to media persons, after visiting the flood-hit areas and relief camps in Alappuzha, Kiren Rijiju said the facilities at the camps are satisfactory.
“Relief camps are functioning efficiently. Service of the National Disastrous Response force (NDRF) team will be utilised for relief operations and another team appointed by the Central government will reach within ten days to evaluate the disaster in detail,” he said.
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Terming the flood situation in Kerala as “unprecedented”, the Union minister said the state and Central governments will work together to deal with the situation.
A Central team led by Union minister Kiren Rijiju reached Kerala on Saturday to take stock of the postflood situation. It visited the flood-affected areas and relief camps in Alappuzha and Kottayam districts.
Rijiju and his team, which reached Nedumbassery airport at 9 a.m. on Saturday, proceeded towards Komalapuram in Alappuzha and met people at the relief camps. After that the team went toKuppapuram in Kuttanad region and then proceeded to Kottayam.
The people at the relief camp at Chengalam in Kottayam alleged that the minister left without listening to their grievances. This forced Rijiju to return to the camp and listen to their woes.
They complained to the minister about the lack of basic facilities at the camp. Union minister of state for Tourism Alphonse Kannanthanam, state minister for agriculture V S Sunilkumar, and state minister for Public Works Department G Sudhakaran were accompanying Kiren Rijiju.
NDRF member KR Jain and Home Ministry joint secretary Sanjeev Kumar Jindal were also part of the team.
Earlier, speaking to media persons in at Nedumbassery airport, Rijiju said Rs 80 crores has been granted to Kerala by the Centre as the first step and more amount will be granted after assessing the damages in detail.
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