As Kerala struggles to deal with the worst floods it has witnessed in a century, several heartwarming acts of help have come to the forefront - be it donations pouring in from across the country or people opening up their homes to strangers who are stranded by the floods.
In one such act of kindness, a journalist in Kerala cancelled his daughter’s engagement function and chose to donate the money to the Chief Minister’s Distress Relief Fund instead.
Considering the the distress the state is facing, Manoj, the resident editor of Deshabhimani, the CPI(M)’s mouthpiece, spoke to his daughter’s fiancé’s family, who agreed to cancel the engagement, scheduled to take place on Sunday in Kannur.
"The engagement and ring exchange of my daughter Devi and that of Advocate Sudhakaran, son Advocate Gokul, was scheduled for August 19. But considering the unprecedented natural disaster which Kerala has been facing, the function is being cancelled. We, both the families, have decided to donate the money set aside for that to the Distress Relief Fund of the Chief Minister,” a Facebook post written by Manoj says.
As many as 164 people have lost their lives in Kerala since August 8 due to the rains and rain-related calamities.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, while briefing the media on Friday morning, said that the state is trying to rescue as many stranded people as possible. As per statistics, as many as 2,23,000 people are housed in the 1,568 district camps opened across the state.
Chengannur, Pandalam and Chalakudy towns are almost cut-off due to the flooding, while Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha, Thrissur and Ernakulam are the worst-affected districts.
Even though 150 boats have arrived to assist rescue operations, the CM said more boats are required in Thrissur, Chalakudy, Aluva and Chengannur.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to arrive in Kochi on Friday evening and will conduct an aerial survey of the damage the state has suffered.