New Delhi: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, a philanthropic organization based in the USA and run by Bill Clinton and his wife, is going to send USD 6,00,000 to the UNICEF to help in the strengthening of relief and rehabilitation efforts in Kerala which has recently experienced its worst deluge in almost a century.

The emergency grant by the organization is aimed at bolstering efforts and initiatives taken up by the government and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to get the huge tasks of helping displaced and flood-affected people by assisting them in rebuilding their lives, the foundation clarified in a statement.

As of now, the UNICEF organization is working with NGOs in tandem with administrations of the districts affected by the floods by providing them relief efforts.

“The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation extends its sympathies to the thousands of families affected by Kerala’s worst floods in nearly a century,” Chris Elias, president of Global Development at the foundation, said in a statement.

“We hope that our grant of fast and flexible funding will help UNICEF work with local governments and NGOs to prevent the outbreak of water-borne diseases and other severe health risks associated with flooding,” Mr. Elias said.

Heavy rains due to the monsoons and the resultant floods put to death at least 231 lives since August 8 and due to the destruction, not less than 1 lakh people are still living in relief camps across the state.

The destruction has brought a total of estimated loss of about Rs. 20,000 crore after the floods and the state sought an interim assistance on an urgent basis for an amount of Rs. 2,600 crore from the Central Government besides asking for a similar amount package under the Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme.

The state of Kerala has faced such a situation in nearly a century ago which had claimed more than 1,000 lives and resulted in a great destruction of the state. And this time there were clear warnings issued by expert environmentalists and ecologists saying more than 4 years earlier that if some issues were not resolved, the state may not be able to help itself in face of another monsoon led flood situation. They asked the government to stop lobbying of real estate companies and building of resorts to target foreigners. They cited scientific reasons behind their warnings. But none heeded to the warnings among the successive governments.

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