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India Unlikely To Accept Foreign Donations For Kerala Floods

The government has taken a considered decision to rely solely on domestic efforts to tide over the situation, sources told PTI.

Rescue teams and local panchayats in the process of evacuating people from landslip-prone areas to relief camps at Kottayam district in Kerala. (Source: PTI)
Rescue teams and local panchayats in the process of evacuating people from landslip-prone areas to relief camps at Kottayam district in Kerala. (Source: PTI)

The central government is unlikely to accept any foreign financial assistance for flood relief operations in Kerala, official sources said.

They said the government has taken a considered decision to rely solely on domestic efforts to tide over the situation.

The United Arab Emirates has offered $100 million (around Rs 700 crore) as financial assistance for flood relief operation in Kerala. Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the crown prince of Abu Dhabi, called up Prime Minister Narendra Modi and made the offer for assistance, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said in Thiruvananthapuram.

Around three million Indians live and work in the UAE out of which 80 percent are from Kerala.

The government of Maldives has also decided to donate $50,000 (around Rs 35 lakh) for flood-affected people in Kerala.

It is understood that the United Nations is also offering some assistance for Kerala. However, sources said India is unlikely to accept the assistance.

The floods in Kerala, worst in a century, have claimed lives of 231 people besides rendering over 14 lakh people homeless.