Kerala - Alappuzha   

Payment for farmers to be completed

ALAPPUZHA: Coir and Cooperation Minister G. Sudhakaran has said the government would soon complete disbursal of interim relief to paddy farmers who suffered losses in the recent unseasonal rains.

Speaking at a review meeting at the District Collectorate here, Mr. Sudhakaran said around Rs. 30 crore out of the total relief of Rs. 66 crore remained to be disbursed in Alappuzha, which would be given to the farmers before May 30. There would be no paucity of funds to help the needy when natural calamities and other disasters struck.

The State government, he said, had given Rs. 18 lakh to 60 persons involved in accidents, Rs. 20 lakh to the kin of those who were drowned in various accidents and Rs. 5 lakh to kin of farmers who committed suicide in the State so far this year.

With the monsoon round the corner, the Minister also directed the official machinery to make preparations to tackle viral fevers and chikungunya and to face contingency situations on the coast and the agriculture sector due to rains.

Stating that all panchayats had to hasten sanitation works before the onset of the monsoon, he called for combined medical camps by teams from the allopathy, Ayurveda and homoeopathy streams.

The departments of electricity, water and public works were to finish all pending and repair works before the rains.

Work on the seawall had to be expedited to prevent losses during tidal wave attacks and sea erosion while meetings were to be held to ensure coordination between the Navy, Coast Guard, police and fire force, he said.

District Collector V.K. Balakrishnan, MLAs K.C. Venugopal, A.M. Arif, B. Babu Prasad, P.C. Vishnunath, Superintendent of Police C.H. Nagaraju, representatives of the Navy and Coast Guard, District Panchayat president R. Nazar and other officials were present.

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