The State is witnessing the ill-effects of unscientific exploitation of nature by man and, that way, the recent deluge too can be aptly termed a man-made disaster, District Collector P.B. Noohu has said.
The Collector was inaugurating a seminar on ‘Climate change and floods,’ organised by the Kerala Union of Working Journalists at the Press Club Hall here on Tuesday.
He said rain and floods were natural phenomenon and floods turned disastrous when man’s activities altered the natural environment.
Mr. Noohu said we continued to exploit nature, inviting more natural disasters, instead of taking measures to check them.
Flood turned destructive only when it entered human habitations, the Collector said.
Mr. Noohu said all rivers in the State were flood-prone. But, encroachment of the catchment areas of these rivers had blocked the natural flow of rivers.
We destroyed the nature by constructing roads across paddy fields and making unscientific constructions along the river banks. We realised the depth and extent of the natural disasters only when floods submerged our roads and human habitations, he said.
Mr. Noohu said the administration was properly equipped to meet the challenges posed by the existing flood situation. But, if the rain continued, the situation might change for the worse, he added.
More canals
Delivering the keynote address, K.G. Padmakumar, Director of the International Research and Training Centre for Below Sea-level Farming, stressed the need for constructing more canals in the low-lying paddy bowl of Kuttanad for draining of water.
According to him, the natural settings of Kuttanad was suited for water transport. Man’s urge to construct roads, criss-crossing the paddy fields, to take motor vehicles to these low-lying lands was what had led to the present disastrous situation, he said.
Bobby Abraham, KUWJ district president, presided. Biju Kurien, union district secretary, and Santhosh Kunnuparambil, executive committee member, spoke.
