Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, seeking his assistance to protect the life and livelihood of the people of Wayanad, his Lok Sabha constituency that has been affected by floods and landslides.
Mr. Gandhi, in his letter, suggested that many lives can be saved if early warning systems are installed to alert people living in vulnerable areas in the ecologically sensitive constituency.
“Developing a long-term strategy and an action plan supported through a special package of assistance to protect both the life and livelihood of people and environment in Wayanad to be taken up on priority,” he wrote.
“Many lives can be saved if early warning systems are installed to alert populations in vulnerable areas and specially designed landslide/flood shelters with communication facilities are provided in such places,” he said.
He said the population and farms of three States — Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu — are affected by the the destruction of forests and the depletion of inflow into the streams and rivers.
“Mining and quarrying continues in the Western Ghats. The depletion of the forests is rapidly increasing conflicts between animals and people living within and in the periphery of the forest,” he said.
The Congress leader pointed out that Wayanad has some of the most fragile parts of the Western Ghats and is home to 10% of the biodiversity of the country.
“I would like to highlight the twin crisis one that affects the life and livelihood of people in Wayanad and the second, the critical status of the ecology in an area that is known as a global hotspot for biodiversity with the potential to contribute to carbon sequestration benefiting the country as a whole.”
The former Congress chief said agriculture and animal husbandry are the mainstays of the people in Wayanad.
However, paddy cultivation that also sustained wetlands and has the capacity to hold excess rainwater and mitigate flood damage, has been steadily declining since the 1970s, he added.
