Nature’s unparalleled fury has devastated the state and its economy. The deluge has devoured over 350 lives with thousands forced to seek shelter in relief camps. Thousands of hectares of crops, roads, power supply, buildings and vehicles have been hit. The flash floods have cut hundreds of roads into halves, pushed bridges to oblivion and water bodies to overflow. The only difference between the flood of 1924 and the one now is the latter is a ‘man-made calamity.’ Rather, a ‘state-made calamity.’
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Violation of CWC norms
The operation and maintenance of dams in the country is governed by the Central Water Commission guidelines and water management protocols. The government and the KSEB summarily opened 34 out of the 39 major dams simultaneously by flouting CWC guidelines and protocols.
Lack of foresightedness
The government ignored the IMD warning of excess rain from August. Despite multiple risk factors, the government and the electricity department did nothing to tackle the vulnerable situation. Electricity Minister M M Mani had on July 27 said a trial run would be conducted when water level in Idukki dam touched 2,397 ft. The trial run was conducted only when the water level touched 2,400 ft.
The Chief Minister had told reporters rain had abated after July 31 and was the reason for holding on to the decision to open the shutters. Data released by the IMD and the KSEB has proved the CM wrong. The data available in IMD, Thiruvananthapuram shows the amount of rainfall had been rising after July 31. When the shutters were opened on July 9 and 10, 7.5 lakh litres of water was released, submerging major towns downstream.
All dams opened in one go
Apart from Cheruthoni, all major dams including Idamalayar, Lower Periyar, Kallarkutty, Bhoothathankettu, Ponmudi, Mattupetty, Chenkulam were opened simultaneously. The unexpected water from Mullapariyar added to the agony. Six of the major dams in Chalakudy river system were opened in one go.Peringalkuthu had reached its capacity by June 10. But the government officers failed to heed repeated pleas for a controlled release of water. The dam was full from July 28 to August 8.
The government failed to coordinate with the Tamil Nadu Government the release of water from Upper Sholayar despite the state heading the Joint Water Regulatory Board. The Water Resource Department and the chief engineer heading the regulatory board failed to regulate the water flow from Upper Sholayar. Finally, the Peringalkuthu dam overflowed.All the major nine dams across the Pampa river were opened simultaneously. Moozhiyar, Kochupampa, Seethathodu, Kakki, Maniyar, Perunthenaruvi and all the small dams in Seethathodu area were opened. Chengannur town and nearby areas were submerged as a result of this mishap. Water from Banasura Sagar dam was released without any warning.
KSEB warnings ignored
KSEB in its circular dated 1/8/2018 had communicated the precautions and procedures to be followed while releasing the shutters of Idukki, Idamalayar, Kakki, among others. Barring Idamalayar, none of the officials failed to comply with these guidelines in any other dams. The government had been a complete failure during rescue operations. Even the ruling MLAs from Ranni, Chengannur, Aranmula had complained about the complete failure of the government machinery during rescue operations.
