Blame game begins after flood fury ends
FINGERPOINTING Congress seeks judicial probe in ‘manmade’ disaster, BJP slams Left govt for ‘unplanned opening of sluice gates’
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: As the people in flood-battered Kerala come to terms with their losses and begin to pick up the pieces, the blame game has begun.
Opposition parties, which stood united with the government during the worst floods to have struck Kerala in a century, are now pointing fingers at each other and saying better-informed dam management and timely opening of sluice gates would have proved less disastrous for the state.
The Congress has termed the floods a “man-made disaster” and sought a judicial probe in to the circumstances that led to the calamity. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has criticised the unplanned opening of the sluice gates of at least 40 dams.
Over 250 people have been killed since the first week of August and over a million people displaced.
“The situation should have been different if dam management was done properly. Leave alone scientists, even common people pleaded with dam authorities to release water gradually. But they kept waiting in an effort to generate maximum power,” claimed opposition leader, Ramesh Chennithala.
He sought action against electricity and dam officials and accused the government of sitting over forecasts from the meteorological department. Kerala BJP president, PS Sreedharan Pillai, said the fury of the floods could have been contained had the government done its homework properly.
Environment experts have questioned whether water should have been discharged much earlier and gradually from the brimming Idukki , Cheruthoni and Edamalayar dams. Water levels in several dams had risen to full capacity by the end of July, but the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB), which manages most of the dams, chose to open shutters only by mid-august, they claimed. “In Kerala, water is managed most unscientifically. Sadly, many leaders still want more dams,” said wellknown environmental scientist Madhav Gadgil, scoffing at some leaders’ claims that another dam across the Athirapally waterfall would have limited the damage in Thrissur and Ernakulam districts.
KSEB chairman, NS Pillai, denied any delay in opening shutters. “We managed the situation till the last minute but torrential rains were beyond control. At one point, we feared that some dams would burst but we effectively contained the situation. It is highly improper to blame KSEB officials,” he said.
State Dam Management Authority chairman, Justice C N Ramachandran, said officials had taken all precautions before opening shutters.