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UAE group contributes to 'New Kerala' vision through social media

Abu Dhabi - Through social media platforms, they sought help from volunteers in the UAE and within hours hundreds joined hands.

A group of volunteers from the UAE have put in tireless hours coordinating rescue operations and relief measures during the devastating floods in the Indian state of Kerala. Their duty, they said, has just started with grand vision of 'New Kerala'.

Friends of Kerala Sasthra Sahitya Parishad, a UAE-based support group of Kerala Sasthra Sahitya Parishad - a people's science movement - immediately swung into action following the initial flood alert.

Sitting miles away in the UAE, the group played a crucial role in the rescue operations. Through social media platforms, they sought help from volunteers in the UAE and within hours hundreds joined hands.

"It was a spontaneous reaction from people. We had many, whom we had never known before, joining us to tackle the crisis. People spend hours on social media here by connecting those in distress with rescue groups in Kerala," Syam Kalarikkel, coordinator of the group's Abu Dhabi chapter, said.

The group made great use of technology. "We scanned through all popular pages of Malayali leaders and influencers on Facebook. We collected data of stranded people seeking help. We tracked them down, verified if the cases were genuine and uploaded the data into government websites. We were able to tap Cloud SOS call centres, live data analysis, geo tracking, live radio and other web tools to provide remote assistance to Kerala's rescue efforts. We managed to save hundreds of lives from here," Kalarikkel said and added the group had to shift to an office to accommodate all volunteers.

The group also interacted with fishermen leading rescue missions and informed them where stranded people were stuck.

Once rescue was over, the group also informed relief groups with the requirements at camps.

"We are continuing the process. We are now focused on supplying stationeries to students."

ashwani@khaleejtimes.com