Kerala has been struggling with incessant rains that has triggered one of the worst floods in the state in decades. In such times of crisis, the Central and the state government have been working closely together along with many volunteer organizations to provide relief to the affected populace and conduct rescue operations.
People from all sections of the society have come together to help each other out in this moment of great adversity. On 17th August, the armed forces were ordered to mobilise all their additional resources for rescue and relief work in Kerala. However, certain people are using the disaster to further their own political agenda.
While Kerala reels under the worst flood in history, the priorities of the Modi govt are clear: 1484Cr on PM’s travel, 4300Cr on Ads, 3600 Cr on Shivaji statue, 2989 Cr on Patel statue, 4200 Cr on Kumbh Mela & only 100 Cr for Kerala flood relief! pic.twitter.com/fu6QlyLx57
— Prashant Bhushan (@pbhushan1) August 17, 2018
There have been many news reports of the PM being in touch with Kerala CM to discuss the issue and Raksha Mantri Nirmala Sitharaman has been providing regular updates of the armed forces deployment and relief work undertaken. Still, there were negative opinions being spread by many handles, attempting to ignore the efforts and use the tragedy to gain political mileage.
Dear Friends,
This is high time to invite your support and attention for the democratic struggle of #Kerala people here in national capital Delhi.Protest against central goverment’s callousness towards #KeralaFlood. pic.twitter.com/Df0FUFzbyr
— Zaid (@Zaidu003) August 18, 2018
Certain accounts on social media were seen not only peddling regionalist sentiments but also choosing to ignore the intense relief operations being carried out by central government agencies. PM Narendra Modi had left for Kerala soon after attending ex-PM Vajpayee’s cremation rituals at Delhi on 17th August to take stock of the flood situation.
Dear @PMOIndia ,
If you are done with pressing matters in Delhi, please can you set aside some time for a place called “Kerala” (no, karela is a vegetable, not that)?
We too are a state in the Indian Union and we badly need central funds for #KeralaFloodRelief pic.twitter.com/eBE8GWc0tE
— The Last Caveman (@CarDroidusMax) August 18, 2018
The state of Kerala asked for additional teams of Army, Navy and a C 17 aircraft 48 hours ago but still the rescue ops are slow.
Is this because Kerala is a non BJP ruled state?#PMMustAnswer pic.twitter.com/1w4wKYScen
— Advaid (@Advaidism) August 17, 2018
The fact that the Operation Madad launched by Indian armed forces has been going on for more than a week was also ignored by many people.
The Royal Oman Air Force under the special orders of Sultan of Oman will transport Food, water and other aid materials to Trivandrum – Kerala, free of cost.
A foreign country sending more aid to Kerala than the Union Govt in Delhi ?https://t.co/k0eNt9whUp
— Advaid (@Advaidism) August 17, 2018
Despite the agenda driven tweets of certain handles, the state government of Kerala and the Central government have been working closely together for those affected by the devastating flood. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan expressed his gratitude on social media for the Rs. 500 crore assistance announced by the Prime Minister after a meeting between the two.
The Hon’ble Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced an assistance of ₹500 crore. CM had requested an immediate assistance of ₹2000 crore. We express our thanks to Centre for the assistance. @PMOIndia @narendramodi
— CMO Kerala (@CMOKerala) August 18, 2018
The Indian Railways has been providing assistance to Kerala as well.
Railways is actively contributing to relief during Kerala floods and has supplied 2.8 Lakhs litres of drinking water and 1 lakh bottles of water are on their way. We are committed towards providing all possible help in this hour of need #IndiaForKeralahttps://t.co/EV5pOGTiv2 pic.twitter.com/hazMj6JlbM
— Piyush Goyal (@PiyushGoyal) August 17, 2018
The Indian Army, Navy, Airforce, NDRF and Coast Guard have all been mobilized to conduct rescue operation in Kerala. Apart from the central and state governments, various individuals have been working in their private capacity to assist those affected by the flood. Various donation campaigns are being run to provide much-needed assistance to the affected public.
