Opposition slams state over flood havoc
SAYS DISASTER WAS CAUSED BY THE SIMULTANEOUS OPENING OF NEARLY THREE DOZEN DAMS IN THE STATE
Kerala’s ruling Left Democratic Front and the opposition United Democratic Front discussed the flood havoc in the state assembly yesterday, with the latter terming it as “the result of a lack of planning”.
At the special assembly session convened to discuss the disaster, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan termed the floods as “unprecedented” and that Kerala was now taking steps to overcome the massive destruction caused by the floodwaters.
He said 483 lives were lost, 14 were missing, and that the losses caused were “substantially higher than what was earlier estimated”. A week ago, the government had tentatively put the losses at about Rs190 billion, but now there are reports that, considering losses to individuals, the figure could be as high as Rs1 trillion.
The opposition, however, termed the disaster as “manmade”, arguing that the raininduced disaster was aggravated by the simultaneous opening of nearly three dozen dams. During the peak of the rains, as many as 33 dams had opened their gates, all at one go.
Opposition MLA V.D. Satheeshan said history would recount the Kerala floods as “a major disaster caused by the lack of planning of authorities”.
He indirectly criticised the government, saying that others need not take pride and credit in rescue operations carried out by local fishermen. Ruling party benches disrupted the MLA’s speech on multiple occasions.
Congress leader and Angamaly MLA Roji M. John said it was a pity that even the Rs10,000 offered to the victims as emergency aid was not being distributed. “To offer Rs10,000 as aid after having caused such a devastation by poor planning is like murdering someone and promising to take care of the funeral rites’ expenses”, John said.
Ironically, the ruling coalition MLAs from Ranni and Chengannur, two areas badly ravaged by the floods, were not part of the discussions in the assembly. Political observers said they were deliberately sidelined because both had made critical remarks about the government during the rescue operations.
Former chief minister and Communist Party of India Marxist veteran V.S. Achuthanandan added fuel to the opposition’s stand, pointing out that there had been lapses in policy-making with regard to environmental issues.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan termed the floods as ‘unprecedented’ and said Kerala was now undertaking steps to overcome the massive destruction caused by the floodwaters.