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Informist, Wednesday, Jul 31, 2024

NEW DELHI – The Centre issued early warnings about the likelihood of heavy rainfall and landslides to the Kerala government on three occasions and the onus of evacuating people from the landslide-prone areas was on the state government, Home Minister Amit Shah said today in Parliament.

The Centre had issued warnings of heavy rainfall on Jul 23, Jul 24 and Jul 26, Shah told the Rajya Sabha. Specific warnings of heavy rainfall of more than 20 cm and the possibility of landslides were issued to the Kerala government and nine teams of the National Disaster Response Force were sent to the state, he said replying to a calling attention motion in Parliament on the landslide in Wayanad district of Kerala on Tuesday.

Shah questioned why the state government didn't evacuate people from the landslide-prone areas despite warnings from the Centre.

Heavy rainfall triggered massive landslides in Wayanad, killing over 144 people and injuring another 197 people. State Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said about 191 people are still missing. The landslides swept away Mundakkai, Chooralmala and Attamala areas in the district.

Shah assured the Lok Sabha that the Centre was standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the state government and would take every step required for the relief and rehabilitation work.

Referring to a report by the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, Shah said there were directives to shift around 4,000 people from the landslide-prone areas. State governments must take early warnings issued by the Centre seriously, Shah said, citing the examples of Odisha and Gujarat, where lives were saved due to timely action by the state governments on the cyclone warnings issued by the Centre.

“We have the most advanced early warning system in the world. India is among very few countries which issue warnings seven days before the natural calamities – like cyclones, cold waves, heat waves, landslides, heavy rains – strike a place,” Shah said.

The Centre’s job is to bring the best technology for early warning and the state government’s job is to carry out the evacuation work, he said.

Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, who represents the Wayanad constituency in the Lok Sabha, termed the natural disaster as a “huge tragedy” and said the military was doing a good job of rescuing people.

“It’s very important that we support the people of Wayanad. I request the government to help the people of Wayanad. It is quite clear that this area has an ecological issue and this should be looked into,” Gandhi said.  End

Reported by Kuldeep Singh

Edited by Saji George Titus

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