As many as 97 villages were affected by the floods in Kozhikode. The deluge took the lives of 35 people between June and August 2018. The surging waters washed
away 238 houses and partially damaged 5,226. 860.60 acres of cultivated lands were also ruined. 86 houses have been newly constructed and other work has been going on to rebuild the remaining houses. Nearly Awareness programmes had been conducted under the ‘Karshika Punarjani’ scheme with the aim to revive the farming sector and boost the spirits of the farmers who had been bogged down by the havoc wreaked by the floods. ‘Punarjani’ kits had been distributed through 12 block panchayats in a bid to restart agriculture. As part of the scheme, 49,000 saplings, 10,940 seed kits and 100 ‘punarjani’ seed kits had been distributed to the farmers. The Agriculture Department had spent Rs 2.61 lakh for this purpose. 12 metric tonnes of paddy, 57,694 vegetable seed kits and 7,000 vegetable saplings had been distributed. The agriculture sector incurred a loss of Rs.1,951.665 lakh in the district. The surging waters destroyed crops in 860.68 hectares of land. The State Government had announced a moratorium of 12-18 months on current loans and extended the repayment period of current loans by 1-5 years. The Government had also provided succour to farmers who lost domestic animal and farming equipment in the floods. New loans had been sanctioned, as per the requirement, to purchase cattle, farming equipment and to meet other agriculture needs. The loans had been released without any collateral security or guarantee. , 5,183 houses out of the 5,226 houses that were partially damaged were provided with financial aid, and 41,484 houses were cleaned. The State Government expended Rs.26.70 crore to reconstruct the houses. Close to 2,311 women got loans through Kudumbashree, and Rs.20.14 crore was channeled for this purpose. An amount of Rs.4.7632 crore had been disbursed to small scale enterprises and shops to tide over the crisis. Assistance had been given to 23,115 farmers following crops losses. As many as 90 farmers got aid to remove mud and sludge. About 14,954 farmers also got
help through the Horticulture Flood Special Package. An amount of Rs.3.23 crore had been spent to revive the agriculture sector. Nearly, 289 people received assistance in the animal husbandry sector. 11 transformers, 769 electric poles had been replaced and 9 power connections restored along with 47.61 kms of electric lines. The State Government had spent Rs.65.5 lakh in the power sector in the district. 1,782.597 KMS OF ROADS REVAMPED The State Government had spent
Rs.33.1841 crore to revamp 1,782.597 kilometres of roads and bridges. Three hospitals had been refurbished and 66,029 people received psychological counselling. A new building with state-of-the-art facilities is being constructed for the Kakkodi primary health centre in an acre at a cost of Rs.3.5 crore. 13 flood-affected anganawadis are being rebuilt and educational assistance was given to 1,550 students who had lost study materi als in the deluge. As an emergency financial aid Rs.10,000 each was distributed to 25,223 families. The State Government had spent Rs.25.223 crore for the purpose. As many as 13,492 kits, each containing 22 essential items, had been distributed in the district.
AGRICULTURE SECTOR REVIVED
Awareness programmes had been conducted under the ‘Karshika Punarjani’ scheme with the aim to revive the farming sector and boost the spirits of the farmers who had been bogged down by the havoc wreaked by the floods. ‘Punarjani’ kits had been distributed through 12 block panchayats in a bid to restart agriculture. As part of the scheme, 49,000 saplings, 10,940 seed kits and 100 ‘punarjani’ seed kits had been distributed to the farmers. The Agriculture Department had spent Rs 2.61 lakh for this purpose. 12 metric tonnes of paddy, 57,694 vegetable seed kits and 7,000 vegetable saplings had been distributed. The agriculture sector incurred a loss of Rs.1,951.665 lakh in the district. The surging waters destroyed crops in 860.68 hectares of land. The State Government had announced a moratorium of 12-18 months on current loans and extended the repayment period of current loans by 1-5 years. The Government had also provided succour to farmers who lost domestic animal and farming equipment in the floods. New loans had been sanctioned, as per the requirement, to purchase cattle, farming equipment and to meet other agriculture needs. The loans had been released without any collateral security or guarantee.
DAIRY SECTOR ON A HIGHER TRAJECTORY
Around 1,06,080 litres of milk were sourced through 253 dairy groups in 2017-18 in the district. But, there was a spike of 11 percent in the daily procurement of milk at 1,18,200 litres in 2018-19. Through this, the villages are yearly getting Rs.152 crore. The Dairy Development Department has pumped
Rs.4.98 crore for the sector.
SALIM AND SAREENA MOVES TO THEIR NEW HOUSE WITH POIGNANT MEMORIES
A new light of peace and calmness reflects in the face of Abdul Salim while standing in front of his newly constructed house at Karincholamala, Kozhikode district. Salim had lost his two children in the landslide occurred during the deluge. Salim’s family including five members was saved as a result of two long hours of rescue operations. Eventhough, Salim’s wife Sareena and his son Muhammad Sammas had a narrow escape, the flood had taken the lives of Dilsha and Muhammad Shanas, their children. As they were not able to reconstruct a new house in the landslide prone area, they bought a new land with the financial assistance of Rs.6 lakh by the Government. Salim also got financial aid of Rs.4 lakh for the construction of new house from the Government. Along with the help of NGOs ,they were able to build a new house within a year. They are planning to move to their new house in this month itself. Salim has been advised to take two years of bed rest as his backbone is injured badly in the landslide.
SAFEEDA ( ERNAKULAM ) THANKFUL TO THE STATE
In the prolonged rain, the water first reached the surrounding fields though it was ignored as a normal rainy season flood. Unfortunately, the water levels escalated within minutes. The roads and paths were submerged and water gushed into their house sinking the stairs. It was then that Safeeda and her family realized that it was
no ordinary outburst but a disastrous deluge to come. By that, they came to know about the relief camps at the nearest possible distance. Safeeda, with a bun in the oven, escaped to the camp along with her husband Shafeeq and parents, leaving all their precious goods in the flood. The ground floor of the house where Safeeda took shelter filled with water. She had to spend three days with an elderly relative on the top floor of the house, leaving no other option. She could just listen to the sound of water flowing around. Long lightless nights with terrors surrounded. At long last, a rescue boat of the Indian Navy came to the rescue operations. After much hard work and suffering, Safeeda was finally located by the Navy forces. Safeeda gave birth to a girl child, Amina Ifra on October 18, 2019. It is not known to Safeeda about who all helped her that day. All were unfamiliar and faceless to her. Safeeda and her family pays her gratitude to the State Government, other officials and fishermen who had sacrificed, had lent a helping hand to bring back people like her to life; saved the state from being devastated by the flood.
