Bengaluru: The Union government gave a warning to the Kerala government of heavy rain and the possibility of landslides on July 23 – as early as seven days before the Wayanad landslides occurred – said home minister Amit Shah in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday (July 31).
Shah added that on the same day, nine teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) left for the state under his approval. He said that if the state government had heeded the warnings and shifted vulnerable communities, people would not have lost their lives in the landslides in Wayanad.
In a press conference on the same day in Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala, chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan responded that it was “not a time to blame each other”. Detailing the times that alerts had come in from the Union government, Vijayan said that the Union home minister had presented information in parliament that was “inconsistent” with facts.
As of July 31, as many as 161 dead bodies have been retrieved from the disaster-struck areas near Meppadi in Wayanad, where three major landslides occurred in the early hours of July 30. However, rescue efforts are still ongoing as 191 people are still unaccounted for, as per the CM’s statement at the press conference on July 31.
More than 80 relief camps have been opened in the district of Wayanad.
Warned Kerala seven days before: Shah
Speaking during a discussion in the Rajya Sabha on July 31 on the Wayanad landslides and on the loss of lives and ongoing rescue efforts in the area, Shah said he would like to “clarify” certain things to ensure that there were no “misunderstandings”, given the entire nation watches the proceedings of the House.
“I would like to make it clear here before the House that on July 23 itself, the Union government gave an early warning to the Kerala government,” Shah said.
“On July 23, seven days before [the landslides happened]. On July 26, we warned that there would be heavy rains of more than 20 cm … a possibility of landslides, [that] mud could rush and that people could be trapped and die in this too. I didn’t want to say anything, but questions were raised about India’s early warning system.”
Also read | Cars Hanging From Trees, Bodies Washing Ashore: Amidst Devastation Rescue Efforts on at Wayanad
Several Kerala MPs said in the discussion that their state does not have an adequate early warning system, even though it has been asking for one since 2013.
“Do we have a warning system? Do we have an alert system? Do we have a system of coordinated efforts? We do not have a warning system. We are living in an age of NASA, IPCC report, AI, etc … When such heavy rains happen, the mud will become weak, do we have a system? … We have not learnt from [Cyclone] Ockhi, [the 2004] tsunami [and the 2018] floods,” MP Jebi Mether Hisham, who represents Kerala in the Rajya Sabha, said during the discussion.
“There has to be a pre-warning system for such kinds of disasters and catastrophes. We need a specialised system for these vulnerable areas. A whole task force, which includes meteorological, oceanographic, geological and hydrological teams, should be constituted. This should be given to a specialised institute like the IITs. Only then can this pre-warning happen,” said Haris Beeran, an Indian Union Muslim League MP from Kerala.
A.A. Rahim, a Communist Party of India (Marxist) MP from Kerala, said the state doesn’t even have a properly functioning RADAR weather forecasting system.
“Kerala has been demanding a modern Doppler RADAR since 2013. In Kochi, the RADAR is not functioning most of the time and is an old system. In Thiruvananthapuram, the RADAR is under ISRO and cannot be used all the time for this purpose. In northern Kerala, there is not even a single RADAR … Please listen to us. Kindly ensure a proper weather forecasting system without further delay,” he said.
Heed warnings, says Shah
Shah lashed out at these allegations that there is no early warning system in place.
“Don’t scream ‘Please listen [to] us, please listen [to] us’, please read it: what warning we have sent, please read it,” Shah said.
He also claimed that there are several state governments that have paid heed to these warnings and managed disasters in such a way that there were zero casualties.
“In Odisha, we gave a four-day warning before the cyclone … only one person died, that too accidentally. For the Gujarat government too, we gave a cyclone alert three days before, and not a single animal died,” he claimed.
“But I want to humbly say that the same old words that you’re taking here and demanding [for an early warning system] – we do have an early warning system,” Shah said. “The Indian government spent Rs 2,000 crore on an early warning system after 2014. All regions are given warnings seven days prior. This is accessible for all people on the website. There are early warning systems for rains, heatwaves, storms, cyclones, even for lightning … But no one is heeding these.”
Many regions have used it and benefitted, Shah claimed. And as per this early warning system, on July 23 itself, nine NDRF teams by flight left for Kerala under his own approval, he added.
“The Union government did so much, what did the Kerala government do? People were living in vulnerable situations, but were they shifted? Why weren’t they shifted?” Shah asked. “If they had been shifted, how would they have died?”
After Narendra Modi became prime minister in 2014, the early warning system started in 2016, and India now has the most modern early warning system in the world, Shah added. There are only four countries that give warnings seven days in advance, and India is one of them, he said. “But you had to read it.”
As much as 10% of state disaster response force funds can be taken by states without permission from the Union government, Shah continued.
“Irrespective of party politics, the Narendra Modi sarkar will be with the Kerala government and the people of Kerala,” he claimed.
Also read: Every Monsoon, Kerala’s Deadly Landslides Showcase the ‘New Normal’
“Not a time to blame”, says Kerala CM
“This is not the time to blame each other. However, reports from the Rajya Sabha indicate that the Union home minister claimed they had issued a warning, and Kerala did not respond appropriately,” Kerala CM Vijayan said in Wednesday’s press conference in Thiruvananthapuram.
An orange alert was in place in the disaster areas, with the India Meteorological Department (IMD) warning that rainfall would be between 115 and 204 mm, he said.
“However, the actual rainfall was much higher. The area received 200 mm of rain in the first 24 hours and 372 mm in the next 24 hours, totaling 572 mm in 48 hours. This far exceeded the initial warning. The area had never been on red alert before the disaster. However, after the incident, a red alert was issued at six o’clock in the morning,” Vijayan said.
Between July 23 and July 28, the IMD did not issue any orange alerts for heavy rain in Kerala, Vijayan countered. He added that on July 29 at 1 pm, an orange alert was only issued for Wayanad district. The red alert and the possibility of heavy rain for Wayanad were announced only at 6 am on July 30, after the landslide.
“On July 29 at 2 pm, the Geological Survey of India issued a green alert for July 30 and 31, indicating a possibility of minor landslides or rock bursts. However, by that time, heavy rain had already occurred, and the landslide had taken place.”
Similarly, the Central Water Commission, which is responsible for issuing flood warnings, did not issue any warnings for either the Iruvazhinji Puzha or Chaliyar river between July 23 to 29, Vijayan said.
“The Union home minister has presented information in parliament that is inconsistent with these facts,” Vijayan said.
Based on Kerala’s prior request, an NDRF team was made available at the beginning of the rainy season; Kerala raised the demand for nine NDRF teams and the government had already deployed a team in Wayanad district, he added. Vijayan also put the onus on climate change, which he said has led to significant alterations in our environment.
“We need to take proactive steps to address and adapt to these changes. When faced with these issues, can we avoid responsibility by claiming it’s not our duty to get involved? The [Union] government should also consider this issue seriously. As part of addressing climate change, effective measures should be taken to prevent the impending disasters, he said.
‘Declare Wayanad landslides as national disaster’
During the Rajya Sabha discussion earlier in the day, several MPs requested that the Union government declare the Wayanad landslides as a national calamity or disaster, as this would release crucial financial assistance not just for rescue and rehabilitation efforts but also rebuilding the region and the lives of people from scratch.
“With profound grief, I am participating in these discussions,” said John Brittas, MP from Kerala. “[Considering] the magnitude of tragedy that Wayanad has witnessed … [we] need to declare it a national disaster. Earlier, the minister said there is no provision … I would plead with the home affairs ministry to understand the extent of this tragedy – this is the worst disaster that has occurred in Kerala,” Brittas said.
Other MPs who supported declaring the Wayanad tragedy as a national disaster included M. Thambidurai of the AIADMK, and Praful Patel of the NCP.
“Rs 2 lakh compensation inadequate”
During the discussion in the Rajya Sabha, Arun Singh, a BJP MP from Uttar Pradesh, said that as soon as the prime minister heard of the news, he immediately spoke to the Kerala CM and assured him that the Union government would provide the state with whatever help it could.
The PM on Wednesday announced a compensation of Rs 2 lakh for those who have been killed in the landslides and Rs 50,000 for those injured, Singh added.
Several MPs, including Hisham of Kerala and Ramji Gautam of the BSP from Uttar Pradesh, pointed out that a compensation of Rs 2 lakh for the families of those who died in the landslides would not suffice.
Many others asked for a special financial assistance package for Kerala in light of the Wayanad tragedy. These included Raghav Chadda of the AAP and V. Sivadasan, a CPI(M) MP from Kerala.