Heavy downpour lashed most parts of the capital district on Monday, affecting normal life in high-range areas of the district.
A 27-year-old fisherman identified as Kingston, a native of Tamil Nadu, died after his fishing vessel capsized in the sea off Vizhinjam coast. A tree fell on a high tension railway power line near the Nemom railway station, affecting traffic on the stretch for a while. Traffic along Kallar-Ponmudi road was blocked after land slipped onto the road.
District Collector Geromic George said that in view of the heavy rains in Thiruvananthapuram district, transportation to hilly and coastal areas except for essential services had been banned. Further, quarrying, mining activities and tourism activities had also been banned until further notice. The district administration also announced a holiday for educational institutions, including professional colleges in the district on Tuesday due to heavy rain in Thiruvananthapuram where a red alert had been declared on Tuesday. There would be no change in the public examinations scheduled earlier.
State police chief Anil Kant directed the district police chief to start a control room to deal with emergency situations. Disaster response teams of all police stations have been instructed to be ready to deal with the emergency situation. The district police chief will be in constant touch with the District Collectors and the District Disaster Management Committee.
JCB, boats and other life-saving equipment will be kept ready at all police stations. Coastal police stations have also been asked to prepare systems, including safety boats in coastal areas. All calls to the emergency response number 112 would be treated with urgency round the clock, said the police chief.
Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) M.R. Ajithkumar has been appointed as the nodal officer in charge of police deployment while ADGP Vijay Sakhare has been appointed as the nodal officer for disaster management operations. A 24-hour control room has been set up in the civic body to deal with emergency situations. The public can make use of the facility for any rain related help by calling 9496434430.
