'There will be no Onam'Keralites who lost everything stare at uncertainty Support from government and banks a must for revival
The main day of this year's Onam falls on Saturday. Though devastated by floods, Keralites will put on their happy faces to welcome King Mahabali, the mythical, righteous king who must have watched from netherworld the sufferings of his people and now 'comes to visit them'.This festival falls on the tenth day from the day of Atham, during the Malayalam month of Chingam. On this occasion, people dress in the attire of Mahabali and take over the roads and shopping malls in Kerala. Celebrations abound.One of the most popular sites during this time is Kuttanad, the rice bowl of Kerala and one of the major Ramsar sites (wetlands which have international importance). The snake boat races and greenery of Kuttanad are huge attractions for tourists who flock there. This time though, almost the entire Kuttanad is in relief camps, in Alappuzha and Changanessery, as the flood waters, which have taken over their agricultural lands, refuse to recede.The disaster during this monsoon, starting early June,
has claimed over 370 lives and affected over one million people in 13 out of the 14 districts in Kerala.Relief camps have popped up at several places.
"Almost 2,00,000 people have been rescued and there are 62 relief camps in Alappuzha alone," said D Lakshmanan, Pallathuruthy Ward Councelor. Lakshmanan is also leading the relief camp at Thiruvambadi School where around 450 families are taking shelter. Most of them were rescued by police, fire force, fishermen, and volunteers, while the others, from the interiors, were airlifted.Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has said the number of relief camps has come down from 3,314 on Wednesday to 2,774 on Thursday, the number of in those camps from 3,27,280 to 2,78,781 and total individuals in the camps from 1.2 million to 1.04 million on Thursday. The trouble persists though."We will request the state and the central governments to allow special packages or exemptions so that the workers can get back to work and regain the losses," Damodar Avanoor, state president of KISSIA said.The plantation sector is also facing heavy losses, with initial assessments of losses at around Rs 7-8 billion, said Ajith Balakrishnan, secretary, Association of Planters of Kerala (APK).While the government has released an initial estimate of losses to the tune of around Rs 200-300 billion, the industry says it is expecting around Rs 250 billion losses apart from this, including the opportunity losses during the Onam season. "We are yet to assess the full damage and will approach the government for assistance soon," said S Sajikumar, chairman of CII Kerala State Council.The farmers are now counting on the government to come out with support packages. The banks have already announced rescheduling of loans and other relief measures and the government has assured steps to be taken towards reducing the burden of the farmers. The government is also in talks with the banks to provide Rs 1,00,000 loan to the woman in each affected family, to purchase the essentials lost in the flood.
ARTICLE SOURCE- BS