Kerala Rain Disaster Victims Still Await Promised Relief Aid as Onam Nears

Thiruvananthapuram: The UDF government has failed to provide the promised financial assistance to people affected by the recent rain-related disasters in the state. Although the government had assured that the aid would reach beneficiaries before Onam, the assistance has yet to be disbursed.

Weeks have passed since financial assistance was announced for those whose homes have become uninhabitable, those who lost their livelihoods and those who suffered serious injuries due to the rains. Under an order issued by the Disaster Management Department, ₹10,000 was sanctioned for the affected people.

The amount was intended to help families clean their homes after the disaster. However, according to reports, not a single beneficiary has received the assistance so far. The government had also announced that two adult members of each affected family would receive ₹300 per day for seven days, but this assistance too remains undelivered.

Commercial establishments that suffered damage after floodwaters entered their premises were also promised ₹10,000 each. This assistance has not reached any of the affected businesses either.

Farmers who suffered crop losses are also unable to even seek compensation. The financial assistance promised to farmers has not been released so far.

Farmers are already awaiting ₹41 crore in pending crop insurance payments. The state also has ₹101 crore pending from the Centre under the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF).

Across all 14 districts, 9,332 hectares of agricultural land have been damaged during flood, affecting 45,904 farmers. Despite the scale of the losses, no immediate assistance has reached the affected farmers from the government.