Rejecting claims that the flaws in dam management had worsened the impact of floods in the State, Minister for Water Resources Mathew T. Thomas on Friday said such propaganda was aimed at gaining political mileage.
Speaking after opening a seminar on ‘Kerala Floods - 2018: Causes, preparedness, and mitigation measures’ at the Centre for Water Resources Development and Management (CWRDM) at Kunnamangalam near here, Mr. Thomas said such claims were not backed by scientific evidence, and that they only served to mislead people.
“It is sad that such baseless propaganda grabs wide public attention as in the case of superstitious beliefs. It is better we do in-depth studies to find out the real causes of floods,” he said.
The Minister, who frowned on conclusions from certain quarters that land developments and flattening of hills alone triggered natural calamities, said nature was at its best even when the 1924 floods shook the State. “All those locations which were badly hit during the 1924 floods were caught again in the latest calamity, and it should be considered as an area of further research,” he observed.
On concern about drought and acute water scarcity as a result of climate change, the Minister said it was time to make preparations to face the challenges ahead. “We have already requested the CWRDM to study the issues and offer suggestions. The status of surface water and groundwater also has to be tested to devise a possible action plan,” he said.
Projecting the government’s Green Kerala Mission campaign as one of the best interventions to fight the emerging threats, the Minister said there should be all possible efforts on the part of people to harvest rainwater and recharge wells to be equipped better for the summer.
Cracks on land
Speaking to the media later, the Minister explained the government’s plan to conduct local-level studies in areas where people complained of cracks on land after the floods. “We will examine suspected disparities in weather forecasting by the Indian Meteorological Department in recent times,” he added.
Delivering the presidential address, T. Jayarajan, member, State Planning Board, called upon experts to come out with a scientific road map for the State to face future challenges and strive to get it included in the planning process. Other than field-level rescue and relief activities, scientists are expected to make that contribution first to help out the State, he noted.
CWRDM executive director A.B. Anitha, former director E.J. James, senior principal scientist C.M. Sushanth, and environmentalist A. Achyuthan were also present at the session, which was attended by eminent panellists and researchers from various professional institutions in the country.
