THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In the wake of increasing natural calamities in the state, the government will set up high-altitude rescue hubs in Wayanad and Munnar. with this, Kerala will become the first state in the country to develop its own flood susceptibility map, Revenue Minister K Rajan told the assembly on Tuesday. Rajan said the responsibility of preparing flood susceptibility maps was on the Central government institutions, but there was undue delay from their part in doing so. The government proposes to set up these high-land rescue hubs with sufficient facilities and highly trained rescue teams of NDRF. In addition, there will be fire and rescue service units, scuba diving teams and civil defence units.
To be set up in an area of about 20-25 acres, these centres will have high-end rescue facilities including helicopter, all-terrain vehicles, radars for weather monitoring, ultra high frequency communication systems, JCBs and long-distance drones. The government feels that the funds for setting up these hubs can be found from the MLA and MP funds.
The government has already been employing services of private agencies such as Skymet, EarthNet and IBM Graph for better weather prediction. With a lack of accurate climate predictions leading to major disasters and calamities in the state, there have been demands to incorporate the service of private agencies. It’s in this backdrop that the government joined hands with private agencies.
Kudayathoor not landslide prone: Minister
Regarding the devastating landslide that claimed five lives in Kudayathoor, the minister said the area was never a landslide-prone area. The disaster that happened there was totally unexpected and the last time such an incident occurred there was seven decades ago, he added.
The minister also pointed out the importance of having an adequate number of doppler weather radars which can assist in long-range weather forecast and surveillance. The Central government has so far installed only one such equipment in Kochi. “In South Kerala, there is VSSC’s doppler radar, which is functional during the rainy season. There is no such facility in northern districts. The CM has written to the Centre several times asking it to set up such facilities in Thiruvananthapuram and northern Kerala,” he added.
DESTINATION WEDDING TO BE PROMOTED
Tourism Minister P A Mohamed Riyas said the scope of destination weddings will be utilised to promote growth in the tourism secto. An Ooty model flower fest in Wayanad is also under consideration, he said.
Ship service connecting ports
Ports Minister Ahamed Devarkovil said ship service connecting ports will be launched to promote tourism and cargo movement. Passenger services connecting Kollam, Beypore, Azhikkal and Kochi is under consideration.