Opinion Lending a hand
Challenges remain but response of political leadership, state and civil society to Kerala flood crisis is heartening.
But check with anyone who has been a regular on the cricket circuit for the last few years, and they will tell you that this isn’t about the captain’s mis-interpretation of patriotism. 
While the scale of floods has been unprecedented, the response to the tragedy has been heartening.
The worst of Kerala’s devastating deluge seems to be over with relief operations across the state nearing conclusion. On Sunday, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan outlined the roadmap the state government intends to follow in the coming days as the focus shifts from rescue missions to relief measures. He assured the people that all necessary help will be provided at every step as they return home to rebuild their lives. It is reassuring that the government appears to be calm and ready with plans and personnel for all aspects of relief work — be it restoring power supply or removal of waste, taking care of sanitation issues or repairing water pipes — involving state agencies, civil society groups and the thousands of volunteers already in the forefront of the rescue mission.
While the scale of floods has been unprecedented, the response to the tragedy has been heartening. The state government and its agencies, central forces including the national disaster response force, the army, navy and air force, civil society, ranging from NGOs to self-help groups, resident welfare associations, the Malayali diaspora, and neighbouring states — all have been quick to respond to the tragedy. They have worked overtime to reach out to those in distress and ensured that the camps have adequate water and food stocks. A standout feature of the rescue operations has been the selfless role of the state’s fishermen, who came with their boats and braved vicious currents to access places and homes that the police, army and naval personnel could not reach.
The task before the government now is to build on the momentum and steer relief and rehabilitation. This is the third major natural disaster to strike the state this year — Cyclone Ockhi and the Nipah virus outbreak had taken a toll, though not on this scale. Preliminary estimates of the government peg the cost of the floods at Rs 20,000 crore. The state government has requested Rs 2,000 crore as assistance from the Centre and Prime Minister Narendra Modi has promised Rs 500 crore. The state, hopefully, will not be short of funds to rebuild its public and private infrastructure — individual donations, contributions from the diaspora and the Gulf states besides government funds should bridge the shortfall. The scale of destruction and the measures it calls for will be fully revealed only when the water recedes completely from the flood-affected areas. The immediate task, however, would be to stave off possible health emergencies and epidemics and facilitate the return of people to their homes. It should, however, be reassuring for Kerala’s residents to know in their hour of need, help is at hand.
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