As floodwaters retreat, Kerala’s confidence rises

Kerala: The government has decided to open Kochi Naval airstrip for use by commercial aircraft by Monday. As rescue operations are going in full swing, no red alert was issued for any of Kerala’s 14 districts for the first time since Aug9.

Fishermen save countless lives, while sometimes swimming against the tides. Their skill and luck had helped them to bring survivors back to safety. “The weather was so bad but we couldn’t wait as the extent of disaster, we saw, was shocking. Often boats veered off course and we had to rein them in by holding on to rubber tree branches and sometimes even electric lines. We could rescue so many people including a person with an oxygen cylinder,” said Jack Mandela, a fisherman.

In operation Jal Raksha, more than 53,000 were rescued by the police in Kerala. It is said to be the biggest ever operations for Kerala police. Today at 8:15 am, first commercial flight lands at INS Garuda Kochi Naval Air Station. K Anilkumar, who is leading the rescue activities, informed that residents in Thiruvarppu have been moved to camps and nobody is stranded.

On Sunday morning, KSRTC resumed its services towards north Kerala from Ernakulam. Service towards Thrissur resumed on Aluva-Angamaly route around 1:30am. INS Garuda, the Navy airbase in Kochi, operated the first commercial flight, in nearly two decades on Monday morning. Students of IIIT-B and CMR Institute of Technology donated their pocket money to arrange for relief material. “We collected money and added it to the funds of our social service club Aikyam, where students collect funds from teachers and others to buy relief material and donated it to NGO Anbodu Kochi,” said a student of IIITB.

Many trains have been cancelled for the day in Kerala. While the TRS(Telangana Rashtra Samhiti) MPs are to donate their one month salary to #Kerala Chief Minister’s Distress Relief fund.