GENEVA: Addressing the opening session of the reconstruction conference in Geneva, CM Pinarayi Vijayan said that Kerala is forever indebted to its fishermen who were the saviors during the time of floods. “Kerala overcame the natural disaster setting aside differences between individuals. Kerala is forever indebted to its fishermen who were the saviors during the time of floods. Their timely interference saved many lives. The floods helped in bringing out the moral values of the Kerala society. This is giving energy in the rebuilding process”, CM Vijayan said.

“In the past 90 years, never did Kerala witness such a natural calamity. In the challenge posed by the floods in August, Kerala lost 453 valuable lives along with a state-wide loss of 4.4 billion US$, which has been calculated by UN agencies”, Pinarayi Vijayan added.

The CM mentioned about the grit, determination and renaissance awareness of the Keralite society that helped in overcoming the floods.