Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is on a two-day visit to Kerala, conducted an aerial survey of the damages caused due to flash floods and took stock of the situation.
The Congress demanded the Centre to declare Kerala floods a national disaster. The Congress party President Rahul Gandhi tweeted, “Dear PM, Please declare #Kerala floods a National Disaster without any delay. The lives, livelihood and future of millions of our people are at stake.”
Dear PM,
Please declare #Kerala floods a National Disaster without any delay. The lives, livelihood and future of millions of our people is at stake.
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) August 18, 2018
Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced Rs 500 crore interim relief to the state. The Congress leaders also demanded more help from the Centre and other states for the flood-hit state.
The state could get more resources from the Centre if the calamity was declared a national disaster, Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said.
However, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) rejected the idea of such classification as a national disaster for Kerala floods.