Dependants of Ockhi victims to get land, houses

Thiruvananthapuram: Dependants of

Ockhi

victims in the district who were identified as landless/homeless will soon get assistance for houses and land.

An amount of Rs 3.44 crore will be used for purchase of land for 32 families and for construction of houses for six families who had lost their homes.

The fisheries department has been able to make this allocation out of Rs 7.41 crore, which was earlier earmarked for 72 fishermen families who lost their homes during Ockhi.

Of the 72 beneficiaries identified, five of them will be given flats at Muttathara. Nine beneficiaries had been included in other housing schemes which are in progress but all of them expressed reluctance to move to a different place and it was decided that they would be given assistance for house construction.

Five of them have communicated that they wouldn’t require financial assistance and 20 families have evinced interest in having flats.

The district officers of fisheries department have been given Rs 2.41 crore for purchase of land and construction of houses for the remaining 24 families.

In two separate meetings convened by fisheries minister and chief minister in May regarding Ockhi rehabilitation activities it was pointed out that 38 families of missing/deceased fishermen during Ockhi could be given land or houses at a cost of Rs 3.44 crore. Thus the decision was made to allot this amount from the balance available with fund meant for 72 fishermen families whose houses were completely destroyed following Ockhi cyclone.

The latest allocation for families of Ockhi victims in the district will take the total relief amount spent following Ockhi to over Rs 20 crore.

As per the statistics with the revenue department, an amount of Rs 18.9 crore was spent in Thiruvananthapuram as part of various relief measures following Ockhi, the highest measure of relief fund to be spent in the past few decades in the district and the highest across Kerala. Kollam, Ernakulam and Alappuzha, the other severely affected districts had spent Rs 3.7 crore, Rs 2.96 crore and Rs 5.05 crore respectively.

In the capital, relief fund had to be spent under nine different components. Apart from major allocations like aid for the dependents of the deceased and missing persons, the relief fund was spent for persons who were seriously injured, those who lost their houses, for distribution of food kits, financial aid for the injured persons and compensation for agricultural loss.

An amount of Rs 20 lakh each was distributed to dependents of 92 persons who went missing during Ockhi disaster.

Deaths of fifty fishermen were confirmed in the district and all of their families were distributed Rs 20 lakh each.