Meppadi (Wayanad): Environmental-social activist Medha Patkar has demanded the waiver of the bank loans taken by the people affected by the devastating landslides at Chooralmala and Mundakai in the Wayanad district of Kerala. She pointed out that the banks have already waived huge amounts of bad loans availed by corporates.

Medha, a popular leader of the Narmada Bachao Andolan, while visiting the disaster-affected areas along with Manorama on Saturday, also said that rebuilding activities in Wayanad should be based on the principles of sustainable development that protects nature as well as people’s well-being.

“Plans to reconstruct the disaster-affected areas have to consider people’s means to earn a livelihood, including tourism,” she said. Climate change and global warming are among the reasons for the recent Wayanad tragedy. Excessive rainfall and steep topography of the region also led to the disaster, added Medha. “Therefore, any rebuilding effort also has to consider environmental factors. When development focuses only on economic aspects and ignores nature, it could be disastrous,” she said.

Medha arrived at Chooralmala along with the Manorama team and noted environmentalist C R Neelakandan. She crossed the Bailey Bridge and observed the damaged houses and school buildings. Later, she visited Mundakai also. A large number of people were waiting for Medha at these places and also in Meppadi. Some women cried, holding Medha’s hands and saying they could not repay loans. Medha told them to launch a struggle for loan waiver, as the government would take a favourable decision only when women demand their rights.

Referring to the situation in other areas, Medha said that similar disasters were taking place in Maharashtra and Himalayan states also. “You cannot change the laws of nature. The main reason for natural disasters is human environmental intervention when climate change occurs. Tough decisions are necessary to prevent the recurrence of such tragedies, as we need to consider the survival of the coming generations, too,” she said.

While pointing out that women are the worst sufferers in any disaster, Medha said that while huge amounts are spent by the government for activities such as road development, only meagre sums are allotted for the rehabilitation of people affected by tragedies.

Medha also said that incidents such as the Wayanad tragedy underscore the fact that scientific studies on the Western Ghats, such as the Madhav Gadgil committee report, cannot be ignored.