Kerala rains: 18 dead, red alert in eight districts, five flights from Middle East diverted

Thiruvananthapuram: Heavy rains continue to lash most parts of Kerala. As many as 18 people have died and several properties have been damaged. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has declared a red alert in eight districts of the state.

A red alert has been issued in Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha, Kottayam, Ernakulam, Idukki, Thrissur, Palakkad and Kannur districts. Meanwhile, Orange alert continue to remain in districts except for Thiruvananthapuram where a Yellow alert is in place.

The inclement weather in Kerala has resulted in water levels of various rivers including Pampa, Manimala and Achankovil in Pathanamthitta district rising close to or crossing danger levels.

In Kottayam, the Meenachil river overflowed leading to flooding of some roads.

Anticipating landslides and floods, several families were relocated to relief camps.

The Chief Minister's Office (CMO) has in a statement said 5,168 people have been relocated from disaster-hit and disaster-prone areas of the state to 178 relief camps.

It further informed that 198 properties in Kerala were partially damaged and 30 houses completely destroyed in the rains from 31 July to till date.

The Central Meteorological Department has predicted widespread rains in Kerala from 4 to 8 August.

Flights diverted due to heavy rains in Kerala

As many as five flights from Middle East bound to Kozhikode International Airport has been diverted to Kochi airport.

Air Arabia flights from Sharjah and Abu Dhabi, Gulf Air flight from Bahrain, Air India Express flight from Abu Dhabi and Qatar Airways flight from Doha were diverted to Cochin, the Cochin International Airport Ltd (CIAL) said.

Devotees barred from entering Sabarimala temple

According to a report by The News Minutes, the Sabarimala temple which usually opens for few days during the start of the Malayalam calendar, has been restricting devotees. Due to the rising water levels in river Pampa, devotees were barred from entering the Sabarimala Ayyappa Temple in Pathanamthitta.

Also, landslides have completely cut off access to road transport in the Moozhiyar-Gavi stretch of Pathanamthitta.

NTA postpones CUET-UG

The National Testing Agency (NTA) on Thursday postponed the CUET-UG in Kerala due to heavy rains in the state. The revised dates for the exam will be announced later.

Due to heavy rain in many districts of Kerala over the last few days, it has been brought to the notice of NTA that it may not be possible for a large number of candidates to reach the examination centre for CUET (UG) 2022 within stipulated time as the movement will be very difficult and there may be disruption of power, said Sadhana Parashar, Senior Director, NTA.

Therefore, to support the student community, it has been decided to postpone the CUET (UG) 2022 for the candidates who will be appearing in cities of Kerala State for 4, 5 and 6 August 2022, she added.

With inputs from agencies

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