Central team to visit flood-hit districts in Kerala

A central team is scheduled to arrive in Kerala on August 7 to assess the extent of damage and losses incurred in the state due to the recent rains and floods.

The inter-ministerial team headed by a joint secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs would arrive in Kochi and visit the worst-affected Alappuzha, Kottayam and other neighbouring districts, officials in the Revenue Ministry said on Thursday. 

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The central team would be in the state till August 11 and would interact with state government officials and district administration. The team would meet Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Revenue minister E Chandrasekharan, the officials added.

Meanwhile, about 9,000 people were still staying in relief camps and of them more than 7,000 were in Alappuzha district. Though there was a respite from rain for the past two days, flood water has not yet receded in many places in Kuttanad in Alappuzha district.

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Government machinery continued to be on alert to meet the situation arising out of the possibility of release of excess water from the Idukki reservoir where the water level stood at 2,396.12 feet on Thursday morning. 

The full water level of Idukki dam is 2,403 ft. Most dams in the state are full and some have been opened to release excess water.