Dubai - Kerala's losses as a result of the floods have been estimated at Rs27,000 crores (Dh13.5 billion).
Published: Sat 20 Oct 2018, 4:16 PM
Pinarayi Vijayan, Kerala chief minister, met with Indian businessmen and other prominent NRIs in Dubai on Saturday to seek help for rebuilding and reconstruction of Kerala.
He said the scope of the disaster was unprecedented.
"The focus during the floods was on relief. Several shops were completely damaged. Our vegetable trade was destroyed, the loss to livestock was huge, farming suffered devastating losses, lands were rendered infertile and loss of livelihood was huge. Schools, hospitals and other public facilities were destroyed."
The chief minister said the focus while rebuilding a new Kerala will be to create an infrastructure that would be resilient to future natural disasters.
"There is no point in mourning the past losses. We need to reestablish Kerala with a new perspective and create new opportunities."
He called for new farming practices and trade policies to usher in a new era of growth. The World Bank and the Asian Development Bank has estimated the losses in Kerala at Rs27,000 crores.
"The Kerala government can only seek Rs4,000 crore from the central government. There has been no response for a request for a special package worth Rs5,000 crore from the Centre. The chief minister's disaster relief fund has got Rs2,000 crore so far. But that's not enough. There are limits to the loans we can take from the World Bank, Asian Development Bank and other global agencies."
Vijayan, therefore, sought help from NRIs globally to help rebuild Kerala. He sought a month's salary from NRIs to help in these redevelopment efforts.
Employees of the LuLu Group collected Rs10 Crore from this initiative and donated it to the Chief Minister's Disaster Relief Fund. He sought more such support from other organisations in the UAE.
He cited the crowdfunding initiative taken by the Kerala government to help donors choose specific projects as per their needs.
"You can choose a specific home, village, hospital or primary health centre or school to commit your funds to under the initiative."
"If you can't donate a month's salary, at least donate a week's salary to the Fund. This will help your brothers and the state's future," the chief minister appealed. Dr Azad Moopen, chairman of Aster DM Healthcare, said: "There is a huge responsibility on NRIs and we should take this as a challenge to help rebuild Kerala."
MA Yusuf Ali, chairman and MD of LuLu Group, said the Purpose of the chief minister's visit to the UAE is to rebuild Kerala for the future generations and discuss with the Indian community in the UAE means to rebuild the state. Dr BR Shetty, founder and chairman of NMC Healthcare, Finablr and BRS Ventured, said there is a unique opportunity for the government to develop and recreate kerala for future generations.
Ram Buxani, chairman of IPL Cosmos Group: "The whole country has to share the challenge with Malayalees so they can emerge from the disaster quickly."
K. Elangovan, principal secretary, told NRIs that Kerala needs you now more than ever before.
"5.4 million people were affected by the devastating floods from August 15 to 18. 510 lives were lost and 15,830km of road network were affected. Rs26,986 crores was the assessment by external agencies for Kerala's post-disaster needs."
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