Thiruvananthapuram | Keralam Chief Minister V D Satheesan on Wednesday said the cabinet has decided to provide Rs 8 lakh as financial assistance to kin of the nine people who died in the recent separate rain-related incidents in the state.

Satheesan, speaking at a press conference following a cabinet meeting in the morning, said that five persons died and one went missing in a flash flood, while two people each died in Idukki and Kottayam districts of the state.

The CM said that the cabinet decided to provide Rs eight lakh as financial assistance to the family of each of the deceased.

During the press conference, he also said that government has decided to launch a strong campaign to prevent the rising incidents of road accidents in the state, leading to increasing number of deaths.

Besides the deaths, several persons have suffered serious injuries, the CM said.

The campaign will involve awareness programmes on one side and strong punitive action on the other, he said and urged the people to support the government's move