Union, state government cross swords over Wayanad tragedy
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM : Several bodies still lie immersed under the rubble after the twin landslides that devastated two Wayanad villages, but the Union and state governments have engaged in a blame game over the tragedy.
Home Minister Amit Shah set the ball rolling, telling Parliament that the state government did not heed the Centre’s warning. Within hours, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan shot back, terming Shah’s claims baseless.
Addressing the media, the CM said it’s not the time to blame each other. “Instead, one should focus on rescuing those who can be saved, locating those who are buried or swept away, restoring affected areas and rebuilding villages that were wiped away,” he said.
Earlier on Wednesday, Shah said the Centre had given an early warning to the state on July 23 itself. He said the Centre had issued early warnings on July 23, 24 and 25 about potential landslides, but the state did not take sufficient action to relocate people from vulnerable areas.
“This was seven days before the incident. On July 24 and 25, we warned the state again. On July 26, a warning was given that there was a chance of heavy rainfall of over 20cm, and there are possibilities of landslides potentially causing loss of life or property,” he said.
Shah said nine NDRF teams were airlifted to Kerala on July 23 in anticipation of disaster. He asked the state government why it failed to shift the people living in vulnerable zones. “Had the state government acted in time, many would have been saved. What did the Kerala government do? Were the people shifted? And if they were shifted, how did they die?” he wondered.
‘IMD issued orange, not red warning; was taken seriously’
Pinarayi rejected Shah’s claim outright. Hitting back, Pinarayi said the IMD had only issued an orange alert in Wayanad ahead of the landslides. The alerts were part of the routine weather warning. “Even those were taken seriously. The IMD had given an orange alert for the areas where the landslides occurred.
They warned about a rainfall of 115mm to 204mm. However, it received 200mm rain in the first 24 hours and another 372mm in the next 24-hour period. A total of 572mm rain was received in 48 hours. This far exceeded the warnings. They gave the red alert only on the day after the disaster,” he said.
The Geological Survey of India, which has a landslide warning system in Wayanad, had given a green alert for the district on July 30 and 31, Pinarayi said.
He said the NDRF team was sent at the state government’s request. “We demanded nine NDRF teams and one was deployed in Wayanad. This is time to work hand-in-hand. Hence, there is no need to indulge in blame game,” Pinarayi added.