According to sources Congress chief Rahul Gandhi said he has approached Prime Minister Narendra Modi regarding help for Kerala, which is reeling under the worst bout of monsoon rain in a Century. Calling it a "tragedy without parallel", Mr. Gandhi said he has requested the Prime Minister to "massively increase the deployment of the Army & Navy" in the state. Meanwhile PM Modi tweeted that he spoke to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and also asked the Defense Ministry to "further step up" operations.
Meanwhile the Southern Naval Command has already suspended all training and rushed troops and other resources for rescue operations in the flood hit state. As per report all three defense forces, the NDRF and private groups as rescue work had continued through last night as rain pelted down. Moreover the Congress chief has already asked party workers to "step up & help those in need" in the state, where the rivers are in spate.
Presently more than 50,000 people have lost their
homes and accordingly an alert has now been issued from the Chief Minister's
office which warned that the water level in both Periyar and Chalakudy rivers
will rise. A tweet from the official handle of the CMO said "People in 1km
radius of Chalakudy, and those inside ½ km of radius of Aluva, must evacuate
the place immediately”.
