In an apparent move to reassure the migrant labourers who leave the state following rumours of hostility against them, the State Government on Wednesday decided to sanction Rs 10 crore for providing Onam kits to them.
Chief Minister Oommen Chandy at the post-Cabinet briefing here on Wednesday said that the Labour Department would arrange the distribution of these kits from August 25. He said that the government had taken the decision to distribute the kits in view of the reports of exodus of migrant workers from South Indian states following rumours of imminent attacks on them. In Kerala, no hostility or threat against migrant workers will be allowed. They have become a part of Kerala, he said. ‘’During Onam festival season we would like them to be part of our festivities,’’ he said.
The Chief Minister said that the Assam Chief Minister had telephoned him and expressed his concern about the people from Assam working here.
The Chief Secretary of Assam also contacted his counterpart here. ‘’We have assured them that safety and security would be provided to the workers from Assam. Kerala would remain as a symbol of national unity and patriotism. The people of Kerala would stand by them,’’ The Chief Minister said.
Solatium for Landslide Victims The Chief Minister said that the Cabinet decided to pay Rs 3 lakh each as solatium to the dependents of the six persons killed in the landslide at Kadavur near Kothamangalam in Ernakulam district.
The Ministers, who visited the spot, and District Collectors, who visited landslide-hit areas of Ernakulam and Kottayam districts, have submitted the report, Chandy said. According to the report, 10 houses were destroyed while three were damaged. As the people who lost the houses do not wish to stay there, all these 13 families would be provided five cents of land each and houses will be constructed for them.
Ernakulam District Collector has been asked to make arrangements for this, he said.
As these affected people wish to leave their farmland, the government would purchase their land to convert them into forest. They could buy land elsewhere using the money, Chandy said.
He also said that the crop loss would be compensated at the revised rate. The 21 people, including the 13 who lost their houses, had also lost their wells. They would be given Rs 30,000 each to dig new wells, he said.
Rajesh, a youth, and a two-year-old child, who were seriously injured in the landslide, would be given expert treatment at the expense of the government. The affected people would be given a maximum of Rs 20,000 for the loss of household articles, he said.
The three temples - Sreesundareswara temple, Valaappil, Kannur, Sreejagannatha Temple, Thalasseri and Sreekandeswaram Temple presently under the Malabar Devaswom Board would be returned to their original owners as there had been complaints that the functioning of these temples, set up by Sree Narayana Guru, was badly hit after their takeover by the Board.
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