Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Thursday visited a flood relief centre at Christian College in Chengannur, one of the worst affected towns in Kerala, reported The Hindu.

Vijayan, who was accompanied by local legislator Saji Cherian, Revenue Minister E Chandrashekaran, Alappuzha District Collector S Suhas, district police chief S Surendran, spoke with people at the camp and took stock of the situation.

The chief minister is expected to visit relief camps in Pathanamthitta district’s Kozhencherry, Alappuzha, North Paravoor in Ernakulam district and Chalakudy in Thrissur district, ANI reported. People in other regions of the state have started moving back to their homes from relief camps.

Vijayan told The Indian Express that the rescue operations were complete and relief and rehabilitation work has now begun. “We intend to have the rehabilitation not as a work to place the former structures there,” he said. “That’s why I said, instead of rebuilding we should focus on building a new Kerala.”

Vijayan has said 13.43 lakh people are still in 3,314 relief camps across the state, reported Hindustan Times. At least 223 people have lost their lives due to the rains, floods and landslides in the state since August 8 and more than 360 people since May 29.

Vijayan also called for unity at this time. “This is not the time for picking up quarrels and controversies...Hence, I do not intend to respond to motivated statements,” he said. Kerala’s Opposition leader on Wednesday had blamed the Vijayan government for the floods, saying it was a man-made disaster.

On the United Arab Emirates’ offer of Rs 700 crore, Vijayan said he did not wish to “enter into any politics over it”. “Let’s study and understand the nuances,” he said.

The state and the Centre have been warring over accepting funds from foreign countries for relief work. On Wednesday, the Ministry of External Affairs formally rejected the United Arab Emirates’ offer and other foreign governments’ aid for flood relief work “in line with existing policy”.

The European Union announced that it will donate 1.9 lakh euros (Rs 1.53 crore) to the Indian Red Cross relief work in Kerala, PTI reported. “In response to the devastating monsoon floods that swept across large parts of the southern Indian state of Kerala, the European Union has allocated an initial contribution of Euro 190,000 in humanitarian aid funding to support the Indian Red Cross Society for immediate relief assistance,” the news agency quoted the statement as saying.

Meanwhile, Kerala Forest Minister K Raju, who was criticised for his visit to Germany during the calamity, acknowledged that his absence was a mistake, Online Manorama reported. Raju said the situation in the state became severe after he had left for Germany, making it difficult for him to return.