THIRUVANANTHAPURAM:Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Thursday continued to blame unexpected torrential rain and lousy weather forecast for the deluge, but added that the government intended to improve reservoir management. However, the allegation that poor dam management caused the disaster was baseless, he said while addressing a special Assembly session on rehabilitation and reconstruction measures.
On its part, the Opposition reiterated its demand for a judicial probe into the causes of the flood and held the government’s faulty dam management responsible for the tragedy. It also wanted special tribunals set up for rehabilitation and relief measures.
According to the CM, the state did not receive adequate warnings from the Met Department after August 9, when the precipitation increased manifold. He claimed that the state had never received any warning regarding extremely heavy rainfall (above 20 cm) any time during August.