Congress leaders, kin to build houses for flood-hit

Thiruvananthapuram: Congress leaders Oommen Chandy, Ramesh Chennithala and M M Hassan will sponsor, along with their family members, one house each as part of the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee's (KPCC) 1,000 Houses Project for those who lost homes in the recent disastrous flood in the state. Each house is estimated to cost Rs 5 lakh. Other leaders are also expected to follow suit.

Every block committee of the Congress will sponsor a house each. Hassan, the KPCC president, said the Kerala School Teachers Association, a wing of the party, has also agreed to sponsor five houses.

Hassan demanded that the Rs 10,000 that the government has promised to those returning from the flood relief camps should be handed over directly rather than sent to bank accounts. People's vigilance panels should be formed to assess damages from the deluge.

Rahul arriving tomorrow

Congress president Rahul Gandhi, who was touring Europe, will arrive in Kerala on Tuesday to visit flood-affected areas and lead the party's flood relief work, Hassan said. He will fly into Thiruvananthapuram at 9.45 am and leave for Chengannur at 10 am.

Gandhi will travel to Alappuzha at 12.30 pm after visiting camps in Chengannur. He will attend a reception being hosted by the Matsya Thozhilali Congress, the fishermen's wing of the party, and will receive cheques for the 1,000 Houses Project.

Gandhi will reach Kochi by 2.30 pm, and will visit camps, reaching Aluva at 3.45, North Paravoor at 5 pm and Chalakudy at 6.

The Congress chief will stay at the Government Guest House in Kochi at night and will flag off Ernakulam District Congress Committee's relief support march at 9.30 am on Wednesday. He will depart for Kozhikode at 10 am, and proceed to Kottathala village in Wayanad from there. He will fly back to Delhi by 1.30 pm.

Hassan said Congress units in other states will also donate to the KPCC's 1,000 houses scheme. Rahul Gandhi will issue directives for that.