Kerala floods: Congress, BJP blame Kerala government for 'man-made' calamity
With flood waters receding and the situation in Kerala having somewhat stabilized, Opposition parties in flood-ravaged Kerala have started pointing fingers at the government. While the Congress called the floods a man-made disaster that could have been avoided, Kerala's BJP unit slammed the government for the unplanned opening of dam gates. However, the government has maintained that it wasn't at fault. Here's more.
Congress blames poor decision-making, demands a judicial probe
Pointing fingers at the Kerala government, the state's Congress unit called the floods a 'man-made' disaster resulting out of poor foresight and anticipation. Notably, Congress leader and former power minister Aryadan Mohammed said damages from the floods could have been considerably limited had authorities taken prompt action on time. The Congress had also demanded a judicial probe into circumstances that led to the floods.
Congress: Kerala government at fault for waiting till '11th hour'
"During the south-west monsoon in 2013, Idukki dam was full but we anticipated danger and opened shutters of small satellite dams. But now we waited till the eleventh hour and opened all dams together," said Mohammed.
BJP says the government should have done their homework
Echoing the Congress's words, BJP state unit president PS Sreedharan Pillai said the damages from the floods could have been minimized, had the government done its homework and opened dam gates in a planned manner. Notably, experts had earlier questioned the Kerala government's decision to open dam gates in August, especially when data showed dams to be near full capacity in July-end.
But, Government says all precautions had been taken
However, refuting the Opposition, Kerala's State Dam Management Authority's chairperson, Justice Ramachandran, said that the authorities had taken all precautions before opening the dam gates. Meanwhile, a senior revenue official added that from now on, flood gates would be opened at the request of the dam-in-charge after gauging the seriousness of a situation. In such cases, district collectors and police chiefs will be informed.
