Bengaluru: Kerala floods dampen Onam festivities 2 years on the trot

BENGALURU: For the second successive year, floods in Kerala are casting their shadow over Onam celebrations in the city. Although most Onam events are likely to be held as scheduled, they will be low-key with two or three bigger celebrations planned, said members of Malayali associations in the city.
They said the recent floods in Kerala are still fresh in their memory.Last year, most Onam celebrations in the city had been called off. The Kerala tourism department too had announced that it would not be organising its annual celebration as an ‘austerity’ measure after the floods that had ravaged most parts of the coastal state in 2018 .
This year, the focus will be on mobilising funds to assist in repair and rebuilding activities in Kerala, said Keralites.
“The excitement usually associated with the festival has slightly dimmed this year due to the flood situation in Kerala, where hundreds of people are left homeless. We will try to find sponsors to build over 10 homes in Kalpetta in Wayanad district of Kerala, during the Onam celebrations here. The celebrations have been put off to September 22, since a majority of Keralites have gone home to check on their families and friends,” said Reji Kumar, general secretary of Bangalore Kerala Samajam.
Simon Thalakodan, joint secretary of Bengaluru Malayali Forum, meanwhile, pointed out how the annual Onam festivities being organised by the group have been cancelled this year owing to the impact of the floods.
“A majority of Keralites, temporarily living in Bengaluru, have gone back to their families to assess the extent of damage caused by the floods. So, we decided to cancel the Onam celebrations and instead focus on sending more relief material to flood-hit areas in Kerala and Karnataka,” said Simon.