Kerala proposes interest-free loans for damaged houses

The Kerala government is proposing to provide interest-free bank loans of up to Rs 1 lakh to reinstate flood-hit houses and make them habitable, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said in Thiruvananthapuram on Thursday.

Loans will be provided to the female head of the family and its interest will be borne by the government.

In association with the banks, the government is leading efforts to rehabilitate the flood-affected in their homes as more people are leaving relief camps.

Speaking with reporters, the chief minister said the government was also arranging temporary accommodation for those who have lost their homes in landslides and floods. Schools and colleges that have been converted to relief camps are set to re-open after the Onam holidays. The chief minister said district collectors had been directed to arrange temporary accommodation for the flood-affected.

Earlier in the day, the chief minister visited flood relief camps in the districts of Alappuzha, Pathanamthitta, Ernakulam and Thrissur. He said a major concern raised by inmates in the camps was about returning to live in their severely damaged homes.

On Thursday, 10,40,688 people from 278,781 families were living in 2,774 relief camps. Steps are being taken to restore electricity in the affected areas. Of the 50 affected substations, 41 have started functioning.

Of the 16,158 transformers affected in the flood, 13,477 have been recharged and of the 25.6 lakh disrupted service connections, 21.61 lakh have been restored. Squads formed across the state have, so far, cleaned 60,593 houses and 37,626 wells.