Indian made liquor prices hiked in Kerala for relief work
Thiruvananthapuram– Stressing that the entire state needs to be rebuilt after this crisis, CM Vijayan said the state cabinet has decided to hike the price of Indian made liquor to use that additional revenue for relief works and rehabilitation of the affected.
“Yes, there is a financial resource crunch. We shall overcome. As additional resource mobilisation to the Chief Ministers Disaster Relief Management Fund, the excise duty on liquor increased by 0.5 to 3.5 per cent for 100 days. Rs 230 crore expected as additional revenue,” Thomas Issac, Finance Minister tweeted. The Kerala government has estimated a loss of Rs 8,000 crore due to floods in the wake of heavy rains across the state.
Whereas the telecom operators have announced free calls and data, extension in bill payment due dates and other relief measures for subscribers in flood-hit state of Kerala. BSNL is offering unlimited free calls within its network and data services along with 100 SMS per day for a week to customers.
Today around 200 residents who were stranded in flooded areas have been airlifted in the relief camp set up at the Naval Base in Kochi. The people in the camp are provided with basic amenities, twenty-four hours of medical care with ambulance and landline calling facilities.
Regarding the safety of Mullaperiyar dam, Kerala power minister MM Mani said all dams across the state are safe and functioning as per rules. His comments came amid rumours in social media sites that Mullaperiyar dam has developed some cracks.
