Even as the rains in many parts of Kerala have subsided, it will take months for the state to get back to its feet. Over the last few days, visuals of houses being submerged and roads being washed away by the floods have been doing the rounds on social media as well as on the news media.
One such video that went viral was a clipping from Wandoor region in Malappuram, where a road was seen crumbling into the gushing waters below, even as people stood by and watched in shock.
This road in Malappuram is an important route for people commuting from Wandoor to Nilambur.
The army, which has been deployed in various parts of the state to assist with the rescue and flood relief activities, on Sunday, 12 August, built a temporary bridge where the road crumbled in order allow the commuters to walk to the other side.
A 30-member Military Engineer Task Force, lead by Captain Kuldeep Singh Rawat, was in charge of the construction of the temporary bridge, which was built using palm trees.
Now, people can walk over the bridge, but vehicles are still cut off from this path.
Talking to Asianet News, Captain Kuldeep Singh said that they cut down the trees in order to bridge the gap between the two roads so that people could cross from one side to the other.
As many as 1,01,213 people have lost their homes due to floods and landslides in different parts of the state and are currently being housed at relief camps.
Close to 1,023 camps have been opened in the flood hit districts of Kochi, Palakkad, Malappuram and Idukki, where 13,857 families have been housed. The rains have also destroyed 243 houses completely, and partially ruined 4,392 houses in the state, according to the damage assessment that was done recently.
As per the preliminary assessment, the rains have caused an approximate material loss of Rs 8,315 crore, said Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in a memorandum submitted to the Centre.
(This article has been published in arrangement with The News Minute)
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