Centre delaying aid to flood-hit Kerala, says CM

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Friday expressed dissatisfaction with the way the Centre has acted to rebuilding the state after it was hit by the worst floods this year.

Ever since monsoon rains began lashing Kerala on May 29, a total of 417 people have died. The flood fury that lasted till middle of August caused unprecedented destruction and forced more than one million people to take shelter in relief camps.

"We have sought two separate assistance, one for Rs 5,616 crore and another for a special package of Rs 5,000 crore. All what we have got so far is Rs 600 crore. And during the floods when we asked for excess rice and kerosene, we were asked to pay Rs 266 crore," said Vijayan.

He said agencies such as the World Bank and the UN have also made an assessment of the damage and it is put at Rs 36,000 crore.

"So even if we assume that the Centre gives us all what we have asked for, there would still be a shortfall of Rs 26,000 crore. We have sought Rs 2,500 crore as loan from NABARD and also from World Bank and ADB. Yet another demand from us was to increase the various Centrally sponsored schemes by 10 per cent, but even after repeated requests, nothing has happened," said Vijayan. - IANS