Kerala govt ignored warnings on flood: Amicus curiae report

Kerala govt ignored warnings on flood: Amicus curiae report
Cochin airport during the August floods in Kerala. File photo

Kochi: As Kerala reeled under floods last year, it was alleged that it was a 'man-made disaster' and a blame game was on the likely causes. The state government was blamed for ignoring warnings about heavy rains and likely floods.

Confirming these doubts, a report by an amicus curiae who recommended a judicial probe into the disaster stated the devastating flood in Kerala in 2018 August was indeed aggravated by the mismanagement of dams in the state.

The report by Jacob P Alex, an advocate selected as amicus curiae by the Kerala High Court to help it deal with 16 petitions it received in connection with the flood, points a finger at the authorities for lapses in releasing water from reservoirs. The report was submitted before the court on Wednesday.

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The report stated that Kerala had no mechanism to record or analyse rainfall. The state government did not act on the warnings by the central agencies on expected rainfall. Reservoirs were opened without the mandatory precautions.

The amicus curiae recommended an independent committee headed by a judge to analyse the calamity further. The committee should include climatologists and dam management experts, Alex reported.

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The amicus curiae had earlier submitted an interim report before the court on the disbursement of relief for the affected people. The recommendations included direct monetary assistance and free power and drinking water and cooking gas to the affected people. It also called for ward-level committees to assess the losses.

Ramesh Chennithala, the leader of the opposition in the Kerala Assembly had then 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 had said.

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