Health Minister Veena George has directed the health department to be vigilant as heavy rains continue in various districts. A meeting of the district medical officers was convened yesterday under the chairmanship of the minister to assess the preparations.

The Minister directed the Director of Health and the Director of Health Education to ensure that hospitals are ready to deal with emergencies. Special treatment facilities will be provided in hospitals if required.

Adequate medication is guaranteed. Covid protocol must be followed in the camps. Those with symptoms will be relocated. Antigen testing will be done at the camps if necessary. The Department of Health has already issued guidelines in this regard. The Minister said that the activities of the health department should be carried out as per these guidelines.

As the rains continue, there is a risk of contagious diseases. Extra care is needed to prevent contagion during covid. Personal hygiene and environmental hygiene are very important. Special care should be taken not to mix sewage with freshwater during the monsoon. If not taken care of, waterborne diseases such as diarrhea, jaundice, typhoid, and cholera can spread.
Doxycycline tablets should be taken by people, including volunteers who come in contact with sewage. Complications and death can be avoided by ensuring treatment as soon as the symptoms of leptospirosis appear, the Minister said.

Thiruvananthapuram: Heavy rains continue in southern Kerala. The rivers overflowed at several places in Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Kottayam, and Idukki districts. Many roads were flooded.

In Poonjar south, a record amount of rain fell in one hour. Many roads here were flooded. Water flooded the foothills of Peringulam.

Travel to Erumeli Mundakayam was banned due to floods at mile 26 of Kanjirapally. Traffic on Devikulam Gap Road has been banned in Idukki.

The Meteorological Department has issued a Red Alert in five districts of the state. A red alert has been declared in Pathanamthitta, Kottayam, Ernakulam, Idukki, and Thrissur districts.

Meanwhile, Revenue Minister K Rajan said the government and local bodies are ready to face any disaster. The government has completed all the preparations to deal with the disaster areas and the problems that may still arise here, based on the Orange Book released with the lessons learned from the 2018 flood disaster. Minister K Rajan said that at this time, politics, caste, and religion should be forgotten and everyone should stand together.

Pathanamthitta: The Sabarimala temple will open at 5 pm today for the Tulamas pujas. Devotees will be allowed entry through Virtualqueue from 5 am tomorrow. In the presence of Tantri Kanthar Mohanar, Melshanthi VK Jayaraj Potti will start the poojas.

The Travancore Devaswom Board has directed that those who come to Darnam must carry a document of two doses of corona vaccine or an RTPCR negative certificate. The by-elections for the priest for the coming festive season will also be held tomorrow.

Malikappuram Melshanthi elections will be held at the same time. The Tulamas pujas will end this month and the temple will close on the 21st of this month.

The Central Meteorological Department has forecast heavy rains in the Thiruvananthapuram district due to low pressure in the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea. District Collector Navjot Khosa said an orange alert was issued in the district today due to the warning.

The district collector said that due to the risk of landslides and mudslides in the hilly areas, travel to the Ponmudi tourist area has been banned till further notice.

Idukki: The district collector has been directed to suspend outdoor works due to heavy rains and landslides in the district and the possibility of falling trees. Kayaking operations and boating for tourism should be stopped immediately in the district.

Workers should also stop working in the plantation areas as there is a risk of tree felling due to heavy rains. The district collector also said that the existing night travel ban in the district has been extended till October 20.

As heavy rains continue in the district, there is a possibility of flooding in urban and low-lying areas. Taluk level officials and the public have been directed to take precautionary measures in this regard.
The risk of landslides, mudslides, and floods is high. This requires pre-preparation.

The KSEB, Irrigation, and KWA Departments were directed to ensure compliance with the rule curves of the dams and to make preparations in advance for small dams. Rising water levels in rivers require special monitoring.

Disaster prevention and response activities in the district should be planned following the guideline ‘Orange Book 2021’ of the State Disaster Management Authority.

People will be relocated in advance at the required stages. The operation of the camps must comply with the rules in the context of the covid 19 epidemic. Taluk control rooms and district control rooms are set up 24 * 7 hours a day under the leadership of Deputy Tehsildar.

Kochi: Banks will go on strike in the state on the 22nd of this month. All banks announced a strike after supporting the employee strike in the Catholic Syrian Bank.

The strike committee said all trade unions would join the strike.