KOLLAM: Political parties, NGOs, and individuals from various walks of life have joined hands to extend aid to the people of disaster affected Paravoor. They provide services from cleaning the area to providing drinking water and other amenities to the people who were left behind in the tragic incident that claimed 107 lives, leaving several hundred injured in the fireworks tragedy.
Some of the restaurants are providing food for the affected families at a nominal rate. The Kuravilangad church has offered Rs 1 lakh as a first instalment for the families to reconstruct their houses as part of its Karunyam Kuravilangad Programme. The Kuravilangad parish will associate with the government to identify beneficiaries and provide the aid.
The Shifa Al Jazeera Medical group is providing drinking water to 300 families near the spot along with a financial support of Rs 50,000 each to the relatives of the dead. It has also announced jobs for the eligible among the injured. Students of Younus College of Engineering is providing bottled drinking water to as many as 200 houses.
Medical camps have been conducted on the temple premises providing treatment by psychology and ENT department of the District Hospital helping them recover from the mental trauma and ENT issues including deafness that affected their ears partially and completely.
CPM volunteers have started cleaning contaminated open wells with a nod from the police exempting those marked for collecting evidence. The water and debris from the wells are pumped out completely before treating the bottom with bleaching powder.
Temple reopened after the tragedy
The Puttingal temple meanwhile reopened on Sunday, bearing the haunting memories of the disaster. Chief priest Unnikrishnan Namboodiri led the nadathurakkal or the opening of the sanctum sanctorum of the temple in accordance with the rituals.
The temple reopened after conducting sudhikalasam, a ritual cleaning of the idol and the sanctorum. Several devotees and public including the police and district administration representatives witnessed the reopening a week after the tragedy that took place on last Sunday.
