Kerala rains: Holiday for schools, colleges in 3 districts on Tuesday

Authorities have declared a holiday on Tuesday in at least three districts of Kerala following the prediction of heavy rains in the state.

Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala):In view of IMD issuing a red alert in Thiruvananthapuram on Monday and Tuesday, district collector Geromic George has declared a holiday for all educational institutions including professional colleges for Tuesday, however, exams will be conducted as per schedule. This follows similar decisions in Pathanamthitta and Kollam districts of the state.

The decision comes amid heavy rains lashing Kerala with the IMD Monday issuing a red alert in 7 districts of the state for the day. IMD issued red alerts for Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha, Kottayam, Ernakulam and Idukki districts.

In view of the development, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has called a meeting of the District Collectors to assess rain damage and coordinate relief work, a release issued by the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) said. The CM has asked people to be very careful, not go into rivers, water bodies, streams etc. to bathe, wash clothes or bathe animals, avoid night travel as much as possible and be ready to strictly follow the warnings given by the Disaster Management Authority, the release said.

The police, fire brigade and other government agencies have been instructed to be alert, fishermen have been advised not to go into the sea under any circumstances and people living in areas prone to landslides have been asked to evacuate and move to relief camps, it said. Besides the red alerts, the IMD also issued orange alerts in Thrissur and Malappuram districts and yellow alerts in the remaining districts of the state for the day.

The IMD also issued red alert for the above 7 districts for August 2 as well as orange alert for 4 districts on that day. Red alert has been issued in 11 districts and Orange for 2 districts of the state for August 3 according to an IMD district rainfall forecast issued for Kerala at 1 PM on Monday. For August 4, it has issued a red alert for 9 districts and Orange for 3 districts of the state.