Thiruvalla (Kerala) Aug 26 : Officials from the Mumbai-based Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDSL) were working overtime to make sure that water-logged anganwadis in the worst affected Kerala districts were getting cleaned up, a company executive said here on Sunday.

Led by former naval captain Ramesh Babu, seven officials from MDSL, representatives of the 15th Kerala Battalion, NCC and volunteers of the Mar Thoma College have cleaned up more than a dozen anganwadis and a few schools in the state's central districts of Alappuzha and Pathanamthitta.

The Logistics Skill Council of India has provided the transportation arrangements of the MSDL team. MSDL had first started this initiative in Kozhikode. It donated Rs 1 lakh and over 200 kits comprising all the cleaning materials.

"But later we realised that it was the central districts that needed more attention. We arrived here on August 16 and have been engaged in the cleaning operations ever since," said Babu, presently a General Manager at MDSL.

He said their main aim was to clean up all the anganwadis but were flooded with calls from various organisations to clean up schools also.

"We have agreed that we will support them, but on condition that when these organisations clean up the schools, they should clean the nearest anganwadi too," added Babu.

The Gujarat and Nasik Malayalee Associations have sent the ration for these anganwadis. Ever since monsoon rains began lashing Kerala since May 29, a total of 417 people have died.

This month, unprecedented floods caused widespread destruction and forced more than a million people to flee their homes to take shelter in relief centres.

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Saturday evening said over 6.05 lakh people were still sheltered in 1,822 camps.

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Bangkok (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday told Myanmar's Senior General Min Aung Hlaing that India was doing everything possible to assist the nation in recovering from the aftermath of a massive earthquake that killed several thousands.

Modi met Senior General Min, the head of Myanmar's military government, on the sidelines of the Summit meeting of the leaders of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral and Technical Cooperation (BIMSTEC) grouping.

"Met Senior General Min Aung Hlaing of Myanmar on the sidelines of the BIMSTEC Summit in Bangkok. Once again expressed condolences on the loss of lives and damage to property in the wake of the recent earthquake. India is doing whatever is possible to assist our sisters and brothers of Myanmar in this critical time," Modi wrote on X.

This was the Prime Minister’s first interaction with Senior General Min, who came to power in a military coup in February 2021.

"We also discussed bilateral relations between India and Myanmar, particularly in sectors like connectivity, capacity building, infrastructure development and more," he said.

India has launched Operation Brahma to help relief efforts in the earthquake-hit Myanmar, where a military coup in February 2021 brought Senior General Min to power.

During the 35-minute meeting, the Myanmarese ruler appreciated the speed at which India sent in assistance immediately after the March 28 earthquake.

“We are ready to help,” the Prime Minister is learnt to have conveyed to Senior General Min.

India has deployed military field hospitals in Mandalay, which was near the epicentre of the earthquake.

A senior official of the Myanmar administration also visited the hospital set up by India in Mandalay.

India has also deployed its National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) personnel who are assisting in the relief work in Myanmar.

Over 3,000 people have died in the Myanmar earthquake, nearly 5,000 have been injured, and over 370 remain missing nationwide.