Thousands of Volunteers Flow into Kuttanad for Massive Clean-up

ALAPPUZHA:
With the aim of sending back close to 1.5 lakh people to their homes from relief camps, thousands of volunteers have begun a massive clean-up in close coordination with panchayat officials in Kuttanad, considered the rice-bowl of Kerala.
Located in Alappuzha district, Kuttanad lies below the sea-level and is prone to immediate and extensive flooding. While water has receded from large parts of Kerala, acres of paddy fields and plantations remain submerged under water in Kuttanad.
The clean-up campaign, over three days, will feature close to 50,000 volunteers who will go around draining water from fields and cleaning homes, ridding them of slush. From carpenters to plumbers and electricians, the volunteers will don many hats, providing essential services to the locals whose homes have been devastated. A large number of snake-catchers have been deputed as well in these areas as there is a high risk of reptiles. Efforts are on by panchayat authorities to supply safe drinking water to these homes.
With roads under water in several places, the volunteers were brought to Kuttanad in houseboats and canoes. The campaign, underway in 16 panchayats of Kuttanad, is helmed under the leadership of the state government, particularly Finance Minister Thomas Isaac and PWD Minister G Sudhakaran, both of whom belong to Alappuzha district. Both the ministers took part in the clean-up drive on Tuesday morning as well.
Panchayats like Kainakary, Chambakulam, Pulimkunnu and Muttar have been particularly severely affected by the floods this year, with most homes in these areas submerged partially or completely. Water levels not receding, despite a week of sufficient sunshine, has troubled the local panchayat officials. Kuttanad was one of the first regions in the state to be flooded in the heavy rains in the first week of August. As the water levels rose, lakhs of people were moved to nearby settlement camps at schools, colleges and auditoriums. The government has notified August 30 as the date when schools would reopen for regular classes after the Onam vacations. Therefore, the relief camps have to be either closed or shifted to other locations by August 30.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has announced that a sum of Rs 10,000 would be deposited into the bank accounts of those returning homes from the relief camps. Further compensation will be given after the damage to their homes would be assessed. Ex-gratia compensation for those who lost their loved ones in floods and landslides has already been declared by the state government.