‘Give us helicopters, we will die here’: Kerala MLA cries for help
Kochi, Aug 18 : "Please give us a helicopter. I am begging you. Please help me, people in my place will die. Please help us. There is no other solution, people have to be airlifted. We did what we can with fishing boats we procured using our political clout. But we can't do more. The armed forces need to come here, please help us," this was a distress message on Friday night by Chengannur MLA Saji Cheriyan.
As the Kerala government and rescue forces struggle to rescue hundreds stranded across many districts of the state, there is palpable fear that many pockets are being ignored in the mammoth rescue effort.
CPI(M) Chengannur MLA Saji Cherian was in tears and literally begged for help as Malayalam news channel Asianet called him for a reaction on the floods. He also put his request to the government as a status on his Facebook page.
“Please send helicopters here. Please tell someone, Please can you tell Modi. If helicopters are not brought in for rescue operations, we will die. 50000 people will die. I am begging for your mercy, please help us,” he said on television.
Chengannur, which lies in Alappuzha district, has been one of the worst affected areas and hundreds of distress messages scattered on the internet indicate that not much help has reached people in these areas. In his press conference on Friday evening, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had said that Chengannur was one of the places the rescue teams were finding tough to operate in.
Confirming this, Saji Cherian said, “Not even one helicopter has come here. If you send a helicopter, we will pay the money for it. Please send us one. There is no one to help. Only ten to fifteen fishing boats belonging to poor fishermen are engaged in rescue works. That also we managed to get through political pressure. But those boats will not reach most places.”
An emotional Saji said that many people have already died but even bodies have not been recovered.
“River Pamba is overflowing, River Achankovil, everything has been flowing together now with such force that boats have been involved in accidents. So many people have died. Bodies can’t be recovered,” Saji said.
“We have done whatever we can, but we need the Army, the Navy and helicopters. Please give a helicopter of the Navy from anywhere. There is no other option. The Centre should help. We are helpless. We are all in distress. When we demand helicopter, the response we get is that the weather is not conducive. Where is it? Give us packets of food. If we don't get help, 50,000 people will die. People are stranded in gushing water. The only possible option is airlifting. Airlift us!"
courtesy : thenewsminute.com
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PM to visit Assam, Bengal on March 13-14; launch various development programmes
New Delhi (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said he will visit Assam and West Bengal in the next two days and attend various programmes and inaugurate development initiatives which will present a wonderful opportunity to interact with the people of the two states.
Modi said the 22nd instalment of the PM-KISAN scheme would be released on Friday at a programme in Guwahati, which is "very special", besides presenting land rights to 3.5 lakh tea garden workers' families.
"I will be in Assam and West Bengal over the next two days to attend programmes in Kokrajhar, Guwahati, Silchar and Kolkata. These programmes will present a wonderful opportunity to interact with the people of these states. Various development works will also be inaugurated," he said in a series of posts on X.
The prime minister said that in addition to this, various works like the Kopili Hydro-Electric Project, Capacity Enhancement Project of NSPL will be inaugurated.
He said the foundation stone for the Furkating-Tinsukia rail line doubling project, cruise terminals at Bishwanath Ghat in Biswanath district and Neamati in Jorhat district will also be laid.
"These, along with the other works, will add momentum to Assam's progress. I look forward to being in Kokrajhar, a place associated with the great Bodo culture," he said.
Modi said the foundation stones would be laid for important road connectivity projects, including Assam Mala 3.0 which would significantly improve inter-state connectivity. Three new train services, namely the Kamakhya-Charlapalli Amrit Bharat Express, Guwahati-New Jalpaiguri Express and Narangi-Agartala Express will be flagged off, he said.
"A historic step towards justice and dignity. I compliment the NDA Government in Assam for this. We are proud of the hard work of the tea garden families and will always work to further their well-being," he said on conferment of land rights to tea garden workers.
Prime Minister Modi will visit West Bengal on Saturday, during which he will inaugurate and lay foundation stones of multiple development projects worth around Rs 18,680 crore in Kolkata.
Both Assam and West Bengal will face assembly elections in the next couple of months.
An official statement said that these initiatives "reflect the central government's continued commitment to strengthening infrastructure, enhancing connectivity and accelerating economic growth in West Bengal and eastern India".
According to the statement, the prime minister will inaugurate and lay the foundation stone for several national highway projects with a combined length of more than 420 km, worth around Rs 16,990 crore, which would give a major boost to road infrastructure in the region.
The projects being inaugurated include sections of NH-19 in West Bengal and Jharkhand and of NH-114 in West Bengal.
These projects are expected to enhance road safety, reduce travel time, ease congestion and pollution, improve regional connectivity, and promote tourism and boost economic growth in the region, the statement said.
Modi will lay the foundation stone for several new national highway projects.
The project forms part of the economic corridor between Kharagpur and Siliguri and will pass through Paschim Medinipur, Birbhum, Bankura, Purba Bardhaman, Hooghly, and Murshidabad districts of West Bengal.
Direct Kharagpur-Morgram connectivity will reduce travel distance by around 120 km and save nearly seven to eight hours of travel time. The corridor will also integrate with key national highways, including NH-16, NH-19, NH-14 and NH-12, thereby strengthening multi-corridor connectivity.
During the visit, the prime minister will also inaugurate and lay the foundation stone for several shipping and port-related projects. He will inaugurate the mechanisation project of Berth number two at Haldia Dock Complex, which will enable efficient, faster and environment-friendly cargo handling.
The project will enhance cargo handling capacity, facilitate efficient full-rake rail loading systems, improve key performance indicators, increase safety by reducing human exposure to hazardous operations, and generate employment.
Modi will also inaugurate the rejuvenation project at the Khidderpore Docks in Kolkata.
The other projects include renovation of the Bascule Bridge at Kolkata Dock System; yard development, including drainage systems, at Kidderpore Dock-I (East) and Dock-II (East); bank protection works along the Kolkata riverfront from the Howrah Bridge pylon to Nimtala Ghat, among others.
In the railways sector, the prime minister will flag off the Purulia-Anand Vihar Terminal (Delhi) Express, strengthening rail connectivity among West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and the National Capital Region.
During the visit, Modi will also inaugurate six redeveloped railway stations -- Kamakhyaguri, Anara, Tamluk, Haldia, Barabhum and Siuri -- under the Amrit Station Scheme.
He will also dedicate to the nation two railway projects -- the 16-km-long third rail line between Belda and Dantan, and the automatic block signalling system between Kalaikunda and Kanimohuli.
These projects will improve train safety and punctuality, reduce congestion and enhance the overall ease of travel for passengers in the region.
