Efforts to restore essential services is going on parallel with relief and rescue in Kerala, where at least a thousand people are still stranded at five villages around Chengannur - a town in Alappuzha. Phone connectivity has been restored in 90 per cent of the state and there is enough fuel and animal fodder, the authorities said after a meeting. With floodwater receding in some areas, lack of clean drinking water and diseases due to mosquito infestation, especially in Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram, have become a big concern. The Union home ministry has declared the flood a "calamity of severe nature".
