High level Kerala delegation to source relief funds from diaspora
Thiruvananthapuram, Aug 31 : A high-level delegation led by a Kerala minister will travel to various Middle East countries and other nations to source funds for rebuilding the state in the wake of this month's devastating floods that have claimed 483 lives, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said on Friday.
The delegation will travel to the Middle East, the US, Australia, Germany, Canada, and along with the support of various Malyali organisation in these countries will seek funds for rebuilding the state, Vijayan told reporters after a cabinet meeting.
A delegation will also travel within India and meet up with all the Kerala-based organisation to seek funds.
"Similarly a fund collection drive will also be conducted in all the 14 districts of the state and each district will be headed by a Minister and it will take place between September 10 and 15.
"It has also been planned to initiate a collection in all the educational institutions in the state and it would take place on September 11," said the Chief Minister.
He also informed that international management consultant KPMG has agreed to provide free consultancy service and would be the consultant partner for rebuilding Kerala.
"The Sabarimala temple town has come under lot of damage and with the festival season slated to begin on November 17, it has been decided to hand over the restoration works to Tata Projects Ltd," he added.
An interest-free loan of Rs one lakh would be extended to all those who wish to buy household appliances, he said. Traders and others could avail a Rs 10 lakh in advance, which will bear interest, as an arrangement with a bank consortium is being worked out.
The contribution to the Chief Minister's Distress Relief Fund that began on August 15 has by now crossed Rs 1,000 crore.
The flood disaster has claimed 483 lives and the estimated value of destruction is more than the annual outlay of the state, besides it was the worst calamity to hit the state in a century. Some 14.50 lakh people are still putting up in over 3,000 relief camps following the incessant rain that lasted from August 8 to 16.
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Two injuries, one DNF, a DQ as India end messy World Relays campaign
Gaborone (Botswana) (PTI): Amoj Jacob and Ragul Kumar got injured during the men's 4x400m and 4x100 races respectively as India ended their World Athletics Relays campaign in disappointment on the second day of competitions here on Sunday.
The Indian camp had high hopes of making the 2027 World Championships in the men's 4x400m relay but the team did not finish (DNF) the race as Jacob suffered cramps and pulled out of the race after taking the baton from the first leg runner Dharamveer Choudhary. Rajesh Ramesh and Vishal TK were to run in the third and fourth legs.
Those teams which could not qualify for the 2027 Beijing World Championships by reaching the final round of each of the six relay events on Saturday were given another chance in the second qualification round on Sunday.
The top two teams in each of the two heats (in all six relay events) booked the Beijing ticket on Sunday.
India will now have to try and qualify for the World Championships through the Top Lists of the World Athletics, which is a long and tedious process.
In the men's 4x100m race, third leg runner Ragul Kumar fell down the track after failing to hand over the baton inside the exchange zone to fourth leg runner Gurindervir Singh, which clearly showed the lack of coordination among the runners.
Harsh Santosh Raut and Animesh Kujur ran the first two legs.
The Indian quartet was disqualified and Kumar was seen being taken away from the Field of Play with the help of the volunteers.
It was a comedy of errors in the case of the women's 4x100m race, which saw the baton being dropped during an exchange between first leg runner Tamanna and second runner Nithya Gandhe, though the Indians finished the race in 53.09 seconds.
Gandhe started running quite a distance, but after realising that the baton was not in her hand, she turned and ran back to pick it up.
The only silver-lining for the Indian contingent was the national record time in the mixed 4x100m relay race, though the quartet of Ragul Kumar, Nithya Gandhe, Animesh Kujur and Sneha SS finished sixth in heat number two with a time of 41.35 seconds, bettering the previous national mark of 42.30 seconds set in March in Chandigarh.
The mixed 4x400m relay quartet of Theerthesh P Shetty, Kumari Saloni, Nihal William and Rashdeep Kaur ended at fifth in heat number one with a time of 3 minutes and 19.40 seconds.
On Saturday, all the five Indian relay teams had failed to make it to the respective final rounds and thus missed out on the 2027 World Championships berths.
