Every bit helps: Volunteers load provisions onto a ship at Naval Dockyard on Sunday.
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Navy, Coast Guard vessels rushing to Kerala with supplies; Naval Dockyard turns into repository for relief material as citizens open their hearts
Food and relief supplies continued to pour in at the Naval Dockyard over the weekend, as people in the State and city rushed to the aid of flood-ravaged Kerala. The sheer volume of relief material has left authorities overwhelmed as they tried to ship it out.
With one naval ship already in Kochi, a Coast Guard one set off on Sunday. With the INS
Mysore set to sail from Mumbai on Monday, the Indian Navy and Coast Guard are now focussing on prioritising supplies to the southern coastal state under Operation Madad.
Western Naval Fleet tanker INS
Deepak, the first to be requisitioned from Mumbai, reached Kochi with fresh water and rations to augment disaster relief efforts on Sunday and began unloading supplies. The ship, which sailed at short notice on August 17, carried eight lakh litres of drinking water, 13,592 kg of fresh provisions, 488 kg of dry provisions, 1,228 packets of ready-to-eat meals, 3,400 bottles of mineral water and 3,100 pouches of drinking water.
Donations pour in at Kerala House in Vashi on Sunday. | Photo Credit: Yogesh Mhatre
On Sunday morning, the INS
Vijit left for Kerala with the second consignment of 65 tons of relief material, contributed by Mumbai citizens and other organisations. Carrying rice, dal, Maggi, small packed cakes and water bottles, it is expected to reach Kochi by Monday morning.
Coast Guard Commandant and PRO Roshan Khandare said, “About 65 tons of relief material donated by NGOs and the government of Maharashtra have been dispatched from Mumbai on a Coast Guard ship early on Sunday. Another Mumbai-based Coast Guard ship, the
Sankalp, which was at sea, is carrying over 50 tons of relief material from New Mangalore Port to Calicut and Kochi.” The ICGS
Sankalp too will arrive in Kochi by Monday morning.
Indian Navy Commandant (Chief PRO) Mehul Karnik said there was so much of relief material that ICGS
Vijit had to leave some of it behind. This, and more, will now be shipped to Kochi on Monday. “The INS
Mysore, whch will sail on Monday, will be carrying contributions from NGOs who reached out to us for assistance in transporting relief material,” Commandant Karnik said.
INS
Mysore, a Delhi-class guided misile destroyer, will also carry vegetables, grains and pulses. The supplies are expected to meet the requirements of over 3.53 lakh people in 3,026 relief camps across Kerala.
Authorities said with the rain taking a break, water had started receding in several areas. “Deployment of more ships will depend on requirement,” Commandant Karnik said.