35 Dead As Heavy Floods Batter Kerala Again: Opposition Blames State Government
As per the latest weather forecast, heavy rains will lash Kerala beginning Wednesday and orange alert has been declared
Mumbai: Due to heavy rainfalls in Kerala in the past few days, at least 35 people have lost their lives, a report said on Monday.
The Congress-led opposition has the Pinarayi Vijayan government responsible for the deaths as they did not take any action in time.
However, the Kerala government dismissed the allegation levelled by Congress.
Leader of Opposition VD Satheesan visited the worst-affected areas in Idukki and Kottayam districts on Sunday and asked why the state government could not act despite a warning by the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
“Wish to know why and what happened and it has now proved that the State government failed to act on warnings. We are told it took several hours for the team of government officials to reach certain spots with men and material to do the rescue act. Something has gone wrong and we want answers,” said Satheesan.
In response, Kerala Revenue Minister K Rajan said: “We rely on the reports and act on the basis of the Centre and we have done just that. Strict action will be taken against those who misuse social media when the state is passing through tough times.”
The Kerala government has cautioned that shutters of certain dams will be raised, which will lead to a rise in water levels of rivers in the south and central Kerala.
On Monday, the water level in the Idukki reservoir rose to 2,396.96 feet and an orange alert was sounded.
According to Kerala Health Minister Veena George, an orange alert has been issued for the Pamba dam and the Kakki dam will be opened today.
Approximately, 4,000 people have shifted to relief camps in Pathanamthitta, Idukki, Kottayam, and Alappuzha districts, which have been opened by the Kerala government.
Former Union environment minister Jairam Ramesh on Sunday said that even after 10 years, the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel report is still not implemented. The report was authored by eminent ecologist Madhav Gadgil in 2011.
“Whenever there is a natural disaster in Kerala, the Madhav Gadgil’s the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel report of 2011 is recalled. A decade later it remains unimplemented—despite devastating floods in 2018 and 2020”, he tweeted.
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