The United Arab Emirates government has offered about Rs 700 crore to rebuild and reconstruct flood-ravaged Kerala, said chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Tuesday. He said that the UAE has pledged $100 million for relief work in Kerala. Vijayan added that the crown prince of Abu Dhabi has spoken to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the rescue and relief mission happening in the flood-hit state.
On Saturday, Sharjah ruler Sultan bin Muhammad Al-Qasimi donated Rs 4 crore for Kerala flood victims. The President of UAE, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, has ordered the formation of an emergency committee, headed by Sheikh Mohammed, to look into providing relief assistance to people affected by floods in Kerala.
UAE and the Indian community will unite to offer relief to those affected. We have formed a committee to start immediately. We urge everyone to contribute generously towards this initiative. pic.twitter.com/7a4bHadWqa
— HH Sheikh Mohammed (@HHShkMohd) August 17, 2018
The people of Kerala have always been and are still part of our success story in the UAE. We have a special responsibility to help and support those affected, especially during this holy and blessed days pic.twitter.com/ZGom5A6WRy
— HH Sheikh Mohammed (@HHShkMohd) August 17, 2018
It is important to note that the UAE and other Gulf countries have a sizeable number of Malayalee population. Indians form a major part of the labour force in the Gulf countries. Indian expatriates make up nearly 27 per cent of the UAE population.
Over the last week, Kerala has battled unprecedented flood and rains, the worst in a century. The state has faced more than 200 deaths, property destruction, loss of goods and commodities and thousands of people have been displaced from their homes in the last one week alone. According to estimates, Kerala needs about Rs 37,000 crore to rebuild and recontruct itself. Initial assessment had put the total losses alone at Rs 20,000 crore.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, when he visited Kerala on Saturday and announced an immediate relief of Rs 500 crore after conducting an aerial survey of the affected areas. Home Minister Rajnath Singh had announced Rs 100 crore relief earlier in the week. This is in addition to the Rs 80 crore relief announced on July 25 by Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju after his visit.