Despite the restrictions posed by the Model Code of Conduct in force due to the Assembly election falling on May 16, the Kerala Government on Thursday sprang into action to alleviate the drinking water problems and other difficulties being faced by the people because of the intense summer heat which has forced the authorities to identify the State as drought-hit.
An emergency high-level meeting held in Thiruvananthapuram decided to seek relaxations in the Central norms for declaring the State as drought-hit and Revenue Minister Adoor Prakash said Chief Minister Oommen Chandy would write to the Prime Minister and Union Home and Agriculture Ministers in this regard on Thursday itself.
The urgent meeting, chaired by the Chief Minister, was called in the context of reports coming in from across Kerala about drought, shortage of drinking water and crop loss as people continued to reel under near-heat wave conditions in the scorching summer which had reached its peak at the start of the week.
Kerala experienced unbearable summer heat for the third consecutive day on Thursday, especially in districts like Palakkad and Kollam. Malampuzha in Palakkad district had on Tuesday recorded an atmospheric temperature of 41.91 degrees Celsius, the highest in six years.
There has been no significant fall in atmospheric temperature since then in Palakkad, the worst sun-beaten district in the State this summer. A temperature level of 41.6 degrees Celsius was recorded in Palakkad on Wednesday. A minimum of 150 people had suffered sunburns in Palakkad district this week.
However, Thursday brought hopes of respite from the scorching heat with weathermen predicting the possibility of isolated rains across Kerala within the next five days. They also said that there was a possibility of the rains turning heavier after May 5 and this might bring the atmospheric temperature down by 2 degrees Celsius.
Kerala has experienced a shortfall of 56 percent in summer rainfall this year. It had received only 52 millimetre rainfall while the expected average is 118 millimetres. The lowest rainfall in the State this season was recorded in northernmost Kasaragod district which received only one percent of the average.
Several areas in the State are reeling under severe drinking water shortage and the official systems have been struggling to cope up with the situation. Most of the rivers in the State have dried up and sources of water like wells and ponds also have dried up. Also, the drying up of rivers and lakes has affected wildlife in a large way.
The meeting in Thiruvananthapuram decided to provide an assistance of Rs 400,000 each, drawn from the Chief Minister’s relief fund, to the families of those who had lost lives due to sunstroke. However, the Revenue Minister told newsmen that such measures would be implemented only with the permission of the Election Commission.
The Minister also said that treatment would be given free-of-cost to those who had suffered sunburn. Compensation would be given to farmers who had suffered crop loss due to drought as reports said that crops like rice, plantains and vegetables in 1,083 hectares had been lost this summer.
Funds had already been transferred to district Animal Husbandry authorities for procuring medicines for drought-hit livestock, Prakash said, adding that free ration would be provided to people who had been rendered unable to work due to the summer heat. Restrictions have already been in place over putting people to work between 11.00 am and 3.00 pm.
The Minister informed that instructions had been issued for launching urgent measures in Kollam, Kasaragod and Palakkad districts which were passing through severe drinking water shortage. The entire water held in the Malampuzha reservoir would be reserved for solving the drinking water shortage in Palakkad district.
Kollam was experiencing severe drinking water shortages due to partial drying up of the giant Sasthamkotta lake and water would be diverted from the Thenmala reservoir to solve this problem. Also, the canals of the Thenmala dam would be opened to alleviate water shortage felt in Alappuzha and Pathanamthitta districts, the Minister said.