Kochi airport to remain shut till August 26 as flood crisis worsens in Kerala; death toll touches 173

As a murderous monsoon savaged Kerala claiming 106 lives on a single day yesterday, the state plunged deeper into misery today with hospitals facing shortage of oxygen and fuel stations running dry, officials said.

The deadliest deluge in close to a century has claimed 173 lives since August 8, and dealt a body blow to the scenic state, wrecking its tourism industry, destroying standing crops in thousands of hectares and inflicting huge damage to infrastructure.

The Kochi international airport will remain closed for operation till August 26 morning in the wake of torrential rains, the Civil Aviation Ministry on Thursday said. It said airlines who were found to have spiked airfares operating to an out of Trivendrum and Calicut, have been "advised" to "cap" the ticket rates.

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Kochi airport has been hit by incessant rains which have wreaked havoc in Kerala. According to an earlier announcement, operations at the airport had been suspended up to the afternoon of August 16.

In a communication, the Ministry said, "Cochin airport is closed for operations up to 8.30 AM of August 26".

It said airfares on 18 domestic routes -- 10 direct flights to and from Trivendrum and eight direct flights from Calicut are being monitored.

Earlier in the day, Civil Aviation Minister Suresh Prabhu tweeted saying, "we have advised airlines to be more sensitive to situation arising out of #KeralaFlooding &keep airfares in check.

"It's a humanitarian cause Thx to all for agreeing with my suggestions to carry free of charge the #KeralaFloodRelief related material (sic)," he said.

The Ministry also asked the airlines to reschedule their flights without any additional charges in the interest of passengers travelling to Trivendrum and Calicut for onward journey.

Several roads in the hill district of Idukki, including in picturesque Munnar, have been badly damaged from a string of landslides. Wayanad, among the worst-hit by the floods, is cut off from the rest of Kerala.

Several trains were either cancelled or rescheduled, sources said. Services on the Kochi Metro are, however, unaffected.

Meanwhile, desperate non-resident Keralites from Australia, the US and the UK were making fervent pleas to authorities through television channels seeking help for their dear ones.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to reach the state tonight and is likely to undertake an aerial survey of the flood-affected areas tomorrow.

"We discussed the flood situation across the state and reviewed rescue operations. Later this evening, I will be heading to Kerala to take stock of the unfortunate situation due to flooding. @CMOKerala," Modi tweeted after talking to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan by phone. The two have been in regular touch for the last two days.

Vijayan, who also spoke to Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, said the situation continued to be "grave" with over 2.23 lakh people from more than 50,000 families sheltered in relief camps.

Though there was some let up in rains at a few places, four districts of Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha, Ernakulam and Thrissur remained in the throes of the monsoon fury.

Officials said many private hospitals in Ernakulam district are running out of oxygen, forcing the authorities to shift patients to nearbyfacilities. Many had to be evacuated after flood water entered hospitals.

People in relief shelters also complained about dearth of food and drinking water.

Quite a few petrol pumps, even in places like the state capital Thiruvananthapuram, which has escaped the monsoon fury to some extent, have run dry.

Long queues of motorists were seen at several fuel stations in Thiruvananthapuram district. Authorities have directed each of these fuel bunks to keep in reserve 3000 litres of diesel and 1000 litres of petrol at all times for relief operations.

(With PTI inputs)