Kerala floods: blame game begins as death toll hits 35

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As the death toll in Kerala’s floods and heavy rains reached 35, the Congress-led opposition on Monday accused Pinarayi Vijayan’s government of failing to act on time. However, the government quickly denied the charges.

Opposition leader VD Satheesan, who visited the worst-affected areas of Idukki and Kottayam districts on Sunday, wondered why, despite the IMD warning, the government of the State did not act.

“I want to know why and what happened and it is now proven that the state government did not heed the warnings. We are told that it took several hours for the team of representatives of the government to reach certain places with men and material to carry out the rescue act. Something is wrong and we want answers, “Satheesan said.

State Revenue Minister K. Rajan, however, said there had been no wrongdoing on the part of the state government.

“We rely on the reports and act on the basis of the Center and that is exactly what we have done. Strict action will be taken against those who abuse social media when the state is going through a difficult time,” Rajan said. .

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan chairs a meeting to discuss the flooding and the strategy to open dams in the state that are full. The only decision that has been made is that the shutters of the dam will only be open during the day.

On Wednesday, when the Assembly resumes, the opposition will raise the issue in the House.

Meanwhile, around 4,000 people are now accommodated in various camps that have been opened in Idukki, Kottayam, Pathanamthitta and Alappuzha districts of the state.

The latest weather forecast, which is now released, calls for heavy rain to lash the state from Wednesday.

It all started with the biggest floods of the century in 2018 and since then Kerala has experienced heavy rains and flash floods every year.

This time, the hardest hit districts have been Kottayam and Idukki districts and although the rains have slowed since Saturday evening and Monday morning, authorities have issued an alert in eight of the state’s 14 districts.

However, on Monday in Pathanamthitta district in central Kerala, things did not look so encouraging.

Meanwhile, social media also picked up on the recurring natural disaster as none other than humans and many trolls came out highlighting the statement by famous environmentalist Madhav Gadgil, who led the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel and warned in 2013 that if Kerala does not stop trafficking in the Western Ghats, a huge disaster is around the corner. –IANS

sg / svn / dpb

(Only the title and image of this report may have been reworked by Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is automatically generated from a syndicated feed.)

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