Kerala: Govt axes all functions for a year, money to be used for flood relief  

The Kerala government announced on Tuesday it won't host any function that involves huge sums of money for a year and instead divert the amount for flood relief.

The cancelled events include the much-acclaimed International Film Festival of Kerala, held every December, besides state school youth festivals.

Officials say Kerala has suffered a damage of ₹30,000 crore in the worst floods to hit the state in a century.

A government order said that no government department would host any festival for a year. The funds earmarked for all such cancelled events would be diverted to the Chief Minister's Distress Relief Fund (CMDRF).

Till Monday, the fund had received ₹1,036 crore. Kerala Ministers are soon leaving to 14 countries to raise money from public contributions.