Union Home Minister to visit Kerala

Kerala, Aug 10: Union Home Minister Rajanth Singh will visit flood-affected areas in Kerala on Sunday, a Ministry statement said on Friday.

It is known that, At least 27 people have died in the state due to incessant rain and landslides in the last 48 hours.

The Minister's visit follows a "crisis-like" situation in the state where large areas have been inundated by floodwaters landslides have blocked vital roads.

Earlier in the day, Rajnath Singh spoke to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on phone and took stock of the situation in the state, besides assuring him of all Central help.

Several Kerala districts have been receiving heavy rains since Wednesday.

Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, via a telephonic conversation with Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, took stock of the situation and offered all required assistance. In a pre-empt action to tackle the situation, the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) deployed six flood rescue teams at Ernakulam, Alappuzha, Wayanad, Kozhikode, and Palakkad to carry out Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) work.

In this regard, CM tweeted that, " The hon’ble @PMOIndia Shri Narendra Modi had called CM Pinarayi Vijayan over phone & discussed about the situation. Prime Minister has offered assistance to the State. CM thanked PM for sending army for rescue efforts. @narendramodi"

In a bid to assist the Kerala government in rehabilitation and rescue operations, Karnataka Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy had announced a relief fund worth Rs. 10 crores to all flood-affected areas.

He also directed his Chief Secretary T.M. Vijayabhaskar to send relief materials and a team of doctors to the state.