Thiruvananthapuram: As the operations to rescue those stranded in rain-ravaged areas in Kerala near completion, a political war erupted on Wednesday with the Congress-led UDF and the BJP blaming the state government for a 'man-made disaster'.
Training its guns on the Left-led government, leader of the opposition in Kerala Assembly Ramesh Chennithala demanded a judicial probe into the circumstances that led to opening of shutters of 40-odd dams at a time in the state.
"The government had no idea which areas would be submerged when nine dams across the Pampa River, 11 dams in the Periyar in Idukki and Ernakulam districts and six across Chalakudy river in Thrissur were opened," he said.
Though there was an increase of 41.44 per cent rainfall this time, the flood situation worsened not because of the downpour, but due to the opening of shutters of 44 dams at a time without giving prior warning, the Congress leader alleged.
"It was a man-made disaster," Chennithala said.
Hitting out at state power minister M M Mani and water resources minister Mathew T Thomas, Chennithala said there was no coordination between the two ministers when the shutters of the Cheruthoni dam (part of the Idukki reservoir) were opened.
He also attacked officials of the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) for trying to reap maximum profit by generating more power, even as the situation was getting out of hand.
In many of the worst-affected districts, people were asleep when the water level rose and entered their homes, he said.
In mid-July, all dams were 90 per cent full. The KSEB and the government ignored the warnings, the Congress leader alleged.
CPM MLA Raju Abraham also said even before any warning, Ranni in Pathnamthitta had started flooding, adding there were lapses in the opening of shutters of Kakki and Pampa dams.
Allegations have also surfaced that three shutters of Banasura Sagar dam in Wayanad were opened without even informing the district collector.
Wayanad CPM district secretary P Gagarin said there were complaints that people were not informed initially, but in the second phase, enough warnings had been given asking people to shift to safer places.
"No one has lost life due to rise in water level. Some deaths had occurred due to landslides," he said.
The Aliyar dam in Upper Sholayar was opened by Tamil Nadu without warning, thus flooding many parts of Thrissur and Chalakudy, while there are charges that no red alert was sounded before the dams of the Sabarigiri scheme were opened, resulting in severe flooding.
BJP state president P S Sreedharan Pillai also blamed the Pinarayi Vijayan government for the deluge and said there was 'lack of foresight' on part of the state.
Earlier, the Opposition had sought the 'handing over' of the relief and rescue operations completely to the Army. The chief minister had then said that the army could only be deployed under the civil administrations of the respective places. The opposition and ruling party legislator from Chengannur, Saji Cherian, had said during the height of floods that the delay in entrusting the Army with relief work could cause 'thousands to die.' However, the Army had subsequently clarified that the Army, Navy and the Air Force assessed the distress calls and made deployments to 'assist' the civil administration. The CM's statement that 'all of us would' venture out to the field (for relief work) had also drawn flak.
Baseless allegations?
However, Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) chairman K P Sreedharan Nair denied the allegations, saying there was no lapse on part of the board which owns the dams and that they were opened only after enough alerts were issued.
There was no point in blaming the board for opening the dams as most of the rivers were overflowing due to heavy rain, he said.
Terming the charges as 'baseless,' Dam Safety Chairman C N Ramachandran Nair said, "Everyone knows water was rising in the reservoirs and rivers were in spate. Now the allegations are being levelled only for the sake of blaming somebody".
Amrita Singh, chairperson, Special Centre for Disaster Research and Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) professor, attacked the state government and said the flood was not caused merely due to excess rain.
"This was caused by human blunder. The Kerala government could have prevented it, but did not have the foresight to do so," she said in a Facebook post.
Rebuilding Kerala
Even as the controversy played out, Kerala turned its attention to cleaning of houses and public places which were damaged in the unprecedented rains that lashed the state.
As people left camps, many found mud and slush up to six feet level in front of their houses and interiors.
Fridges, television sets and other electronic equipment were all lying upside down in the turbid waters.
Many children lost their books and certificates. Many people lost their Aadhaar and ration cards.
"We will have to start afresh. Right from the beginning," a woman lamented.
Another major problem being faced by those returning home is the severe drinking water shortage as the wells are contaminated with muddy water. Piped water supply is yet to begin in many places.
In a show of unity, a group of Muslim youths cleaned temples in Malappuram and Wayanad districts.
According to the Disaster Management State Control room, 231 people have lost their lives and 32 are missing in flood-related incidents since August 8.
People still at relief camps
Nearly 14.50 lakh people belonging to 3.91 lakh families are still lodged in 3,879 relief camps across the state.
The largest number of people in relief camps was in the worst-hit Ernakulam district with 5.32 lakh of them in 850 camps.
Though water has started receding in some places, areas near the river banks and Kuttanand in Alapuzha continue to be under water.
More than 3,000 squads under health and local self-government departments have started the process of cleaning houses and public places, official sources said.
Chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan has said most of the stranded people have been rescued and searches would continue in isolated houses to find if more were trapped.
The state, which suffered an estimated loss of Rs 20,000 crore in the deluge, has sought from the Centre a relief package of Rs 2,600 crore under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) and the centrally-sponsored programmes. The state had also sought an immediate relief of Rs 2,000 crore to take up relief works. The Centre had on Tuesday released Rs 600 crore assistance to the state.
The Chief Minister's Disaster Relief Fund (CMDRF) had received donations to the tune of Rs 309 crore till Tuesday evening through online and deposits in the special SBI account. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) government has offered USD 100 million (about Rs 700 crore) to the rain-ravaged state.
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