Kerala gets rain respite, Kochi airport reopens

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Kochi: There was respite from monsoon fury, especially landslides and floods, on Monday. Bodies of two persons who went missing at Pala in Kottayam on Monday afternoon were fished out by the fire and rescue personnel on Tuesday and another body was recovered from Aluva taking the toll to 17 over the last 36 hours.
The Cochin international airport became operational around 3.30 pm after a 29-hour closure. Besides an all-party meeting in Thiruvananthapuram, which decided to send a team to New Delhi to seek special assistance, a special cabinet meeting on Tuesday decided to seek a team of the National Disaster Response Force unit in Ernakulam.
A team headed by the chief secretary and including experts from the Center for Earth Science Studies, geologists and National Highway Authority of India officials would be formed to study ecological issues, including landslides.
CM Oommen Chandy on Tuesday visited the landslip site at Cheeyapara in Idukki district and supervised the rescue operations where it was confirmed that there were no more missing persons. Bodies of three persons, who were killed in the landslide, were recovered on Monday itself. 
Three vehicles were spotted after the debris was cleared with the help of Army, National Disaster Response Force, Fire and Rescue Services and local residents.
Kerala gets rain respite
Chandy said that the Prime Minister would be requested to send a ministerial team with officials and experts to Idukki district and recommend preventive measures.
In disaster-hit Pala, where two persons had drowned in flooded Meenachil, rescue personnel fished out the body of P.V. Sunil Kumar (50) of Mutholi, who had gone out to buy milk on Monday afternoon and did not return. His body lay in a pit in a submerged paddy field.
The body of V. Simon (55) who accidentally fell into a rivulet near a shopping complex near Kottaramattam was recovered on Tuesday afternoon.
At Mupathadam, the body of P P Antony, who drowned after his house was flooded on Monday, was recovered on Tuesday.
More deaths in landslide ruled out
Kochi: With  bodies of the three people killed in the  landslide at Cheeyapara near Neriyamangalam extricated on Monday and the search for missing persons coming to an end, rescue operators got down to the task of clearing the roads for traffic on  Tuesday.
With no rain to hamper operations, four vehicles were found at various spots and traffic partially restored as the Army, National Disaster Response Force, Fire and Rescue Services and locals worked relentlessly taking advantage of the dry conditions. But the road will be opened fully only after a report is received from the National Highway Authority of India.
Chief minister Oommen Chandy, who visited the spot  early in the day said the Centre would be informed about the disaster and asked to send a special panel to look into it.
Condoling the deaths of the three  killed in the landslide , he promised there would be no delay in providing relief  to their  families and the injured.
“Our disaster management team was formed  last year but it has not started full-fledged operations. We will correct this soon,” he assured, revealing that a team was closely monitoring the situation at the Mullaperiyar dam where the water level was rising dangerously.
Meanwhile, rescuers traced a jeep of the revenue department nearly 100 meters down  the gorge with a motorcycle near it and a car located further down.
While the motorcycle was lifted by a crane ,  the jeep could not be removed.