Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

District reels under monsoon impact

Special Correspondent

One killed, 659 families displaced; 22 relief camps opened in three taluks

NATURE’S WRATH: Strong winds uprooted a tree on the General Hospital premises on Saturday. The tree collapsed on a building housing Ward 4, injuring nine persons.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The southwest monsoon cut a trail of destruction through the district on Saturday leaving one dead, 659 families homeless and causing widespread damage to crops and property.

The district administration has opened 22 relief camps in the Thiruvananthapuram, Chirayinkeezh and Neyyatinkara taluks to accommodate the stricken families. As many as 13 houses were destroyed and 422 damaged. Thiruvananthapuram taluk was the worst affected. The raging sea continued to buffet the coastal areas, claiming large tracts of land and uprooting trees.

The body of a 32-year-old man who was washed away by the turbulent waters of the Vamanapuram River on Friday was recovered at Navayikulam on Saturday.

As many as nine persons were injured when a tree, uprooted by the wind, crashed onto the building housing Ward 4 on the General Hospital premises here on Saturday morning. Six of the injured persons were admitted to the General Hospital while three were shifted to the Medical College Hospital. The building was partially damaged. Those shifted to the Medical College Hospital were Lakshmikkutty Amma (68) of Poozhanad and Saraswathy (65) of Vilappilsala. Manoona Beevi (58) of Peyad, who was also admitted to the MCH, was discharged later in the day. Health Minister P.K. Sreemathy, Additional District Magistrate K. Surendran and tahsildar Krishnakumar . supervised the rescue operations.

In Thiruvananthapuram, 1,901 people were relocated to relief camps at Beemapally, Poonthura, Veli, Sanghumukham, Kannanthura, Vettukad, Pallithura, Pettah, Kochuveli and Kadakampally. Five houses were destroyed and 152 damaged. In Chirayinkeezh taluk, 97 houses were damaged and 753 persons accommodated in camps at Anchuthengu, Kadakam, Thottumukku, Kayikkara, Mampally, Vettoor.

Seven houses were destroyed and 145 damaged in the Neyyatinkara taluk. A relief camp has been opened at Poovar to house 60 people displaced from the Poovar and Thirupuram villages. In the Nedumangad taluk, one house was reported destroyed and 28 damaged.

The Sanghumukham and Cheriyathura beaches virtually disappeared under the ceaseless assault by the raging sea. The waves threatened to wash away the walkway and the adjacent road at Sanghumukham. The administration swung into action to buttress the shoreline and prevent further erosion.

From early morning, efforts were on to rebuild the seawalls that were breached at several places, but the operation ran into problems following scarcity of granite. Officials said many of the granite quarries in the district were flooded with rainwater and were forced to suspend operations. The Irrigation Department has directed quarry contractors to pump out the water and resume operations on a war footing from Sunday to ensure a steady supply of granite.

A flood review meeting convened by Law Minister M. Vijayakumar here on Saturday announced two weeks supply of free ration for the flood victims. Revenue Minister K.P. Rajendran told the meeting that the Government had sanctioned Rs.25 lakh for flood relief activities.

He said a committee comprising the Village Officer as convener and the panchayat president and ward representative as members would be set up to identify the beneficiaries for the free ration scheme and to assess the loss caused by damage to standing crops.

Tahsildars were told to ensure disbursement of emergency assistance to the families rendered homeless.

Mr.Vijayakumar said the KSEB had been directed to constitute taluk-level task force committees to restore power supply in case of disruption caused by hostile weather.

The meeting instructed Irrigation Department officials to repair damaged seawalls. It decided to convene flood review meetings in all the four taluks from Sunday. Deputy Collectors have been appointed as charge officers in each taluk.

MLAs J. Arundhati, Anathalavattam Anandan, Mangode Radhakrishnan and V. Sivankutty; Deputy Mayor V. Jayaprakash; ADM K. Surendran; and officials representing various Government departments participated in the meeting.

The Kerala Swathantra Matsya Thozhilali Federation alleged that the district administration had failed to honour its commitment to rehabilitate the families living in the erosion- prone areas at Sanghumukham, Vettukad, Poonthura and Beemapally.

He said the unscientific construction of the breakwater at Muthalapozhi and the failure to check unauthorised sand-mining were responsible for the coastal erosion at Thumba and Pallithura. The district committee of the federation urged the Government to implement a rehabilitation project for the families facing displacement by erosion.

The Islamic peace movement of India has urged the Government to construct breakwaters to protect the masjid and temple on the Panathura beach.

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