Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan announced that the state will provide ₹8 lakh to the next‑of‑kin of each of the nine people who lost their lives in the recent rainfall‑related incidents, and that one person remains missing.
The fatalities were spread across three districts: five deaths and one missing person in flash‑flood‑hit Malappuram, two deaths each in Idukki and Kottayam.
In the same cabinet meeting, the government cleared a proposal for a ‘Road Safety Campaign’ aimed at significantly reducing the rising number of road accidents, Satheesan said.
The campaign will be coordinated by the Transport Department, modeled on the Home Department’s Operation Toofan anti‑narcotics drive, and will combine public awareness programmes with stricter enforcement of traffic rules.
The cabinet also approved a nationwide ‘Festival Kerala’ to mark the state’s 70th anniversary, with events slated for New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru and Kolkata; a sub‑committee chaired by the chief minister and convened by Culture Minister P.C. Vishnunadh will oversee the first phase.
Additionally, the cabinet decided to rename the newly‑constituted Elderly Welfare Department as the Department for Senior Citizens.