On Wednesday (31st July), Union Home Minister Amit Shah came down heavily on the Kerala government for politicising and indulging in blame game over the tragic landslides in Kerala’s Wayanad. He lambasted the Pinarayi Vijayan government and stated that the Union government gave them early warnings, several days in advance of the major calamity. He also charged the Communist government with ignoring early warning alerts issued by the Union government.
Notably, Home Minister Shah briefly addressed the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday and shared details about the centre’s response and effectiveness of India’s ‘early warning system’ in the wake of landslides in Wayanad. He assured the House and the country that the Modi government is standing like a rock with the Kerala government and the people to deal with the tragedy.
#WATCH | Delhi: Union Home Minister Amit Shah says, "My condolences to the bereaved families… I want to clarify something for the country… They kept on talking about early warning. I want to clarify that on July 23, the government of India gave an early warning to the… pic.twitter.com/pyi8WCFPq2
— ANI (@ANI) July 31, 2024
In Rajya Sabha, he listed out the dates on which the Kerala government could have acted to avert the high casualty figures.
Home Minister Shah said, “My condolences to the bereaved families… I want to clarify something for the country… They kept on talking about early warning. I want to clarify that on July 23, the government of India gave an early warning to the government of Kerala, which was 7 days before the incident, and then on July 24 and 25 too early warning was given.”
He added, “On July 26, a warning was given that there was a chance of heavy rainfall of more than 20 cm, and there were chances of landslides, there could be mudflow and people could lose lives in this. Questions are being raised about the early warning system of the government… “
– We gave a warning to Kerala Govt on 23rd July
— Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) July 31, 2024
– Reminder on 24th
– Another reminder on 25th
– On 26th, we even warned them about landslide
– Pinarayi Vijayan’s Kerala Govt didn't listen
Union Home Minister Amit Shah tears into the Left cabal, who questioned GoI’s early warning… pic.twitter.com/yrOSmtdreT
He slammed the Pinarayi Vijayan-led LDF government and emphasised that the number of deaths could have been minimised had the Kerala government been alert and acted on the Centre’s warning or after the arrival of NDRF teams.
He also adviced the opposition parties to read the early warning alerts issued by the Union government saying, “Please, read it” instead of shouting, “Please listen us” and repeat old and worn out slogans.
Shah told Rajya Sabha that the Centre had dispatched nine NDRF teams on 23rd July to Kerala after heavy rainfall was predicted for the southern state.
He added, “… Under this early warning system, on July 23, at my direction, 9 NDRF teams were sent to Kerala considering that there could be landslides… What did the Kerala government do? Were the people shifted? And if they were shifted then how did they die?… The project of early warning started in 2016 and by 2023, India had the most modern early warning system… There are only 4 countries to predict 7 days in advance and India is one amongst them.”
#WATCH | Delhi: Union Home Minister Amit Shah says, "… Under this early warning system, on July 23, at my direction, 9 NDRF teams were sent to Kerala considering that there could be landslides… What did the Kerala government do? Were the people shifted? And if they were… pic.twitter.com/P29bTb2buk
— ANI (@ANI) July 31, 2024
We have early warning system for rainfall, heatwave, cyclone, thunderstorm and even for lighting which informs respective DM directly, 10 minutes in advance. The government has spent Rs. 2000 crores after 2014 for the early warning system, the Home Minister told Rajya Sabha.
While Kerala government ignored warning alerts, other state governments ensured ‘Zero-casualty’ disaster management: Amit Shah told Parliament
Home Minister Shah noted that while the Kerala government ignored the early warning alerts, other state governments including the then BJD-led Odisha government ensured zero-casaulty disaster management because of these alerts.
He added that there are governments that took cognisance of the alerts sent by the early warning system and ensured “zero-casualty disaster management”. He lauded the then Odisha government which was headed by Naveen Patnaik.
He noted that the Union government alerted the then Odisha government 7 days in advance about cyclones and it prevented major loss of lives. Incidentally, only person lost his life because of some mistakes.
The Home Minister added that they sent a cyclone alert to the Gujarat government three days in advance, and the latter ensured zero-casaulty.
Taking a jibe seemingly at TMC MP Mahua Moitra who was expelled from the Last Lok Sabha over ‘cash-for-query’ scam, Home Minister said that some MPs open ‘foreign sites’ rather than visiting official website. He explained that apart from sending early warning alerts to the state governments, 7 days in advance, the information is available on site for all to see but for that people would have to see Indian site, he added.
Wayanand Landslides
Two massive landslides struck the state’s hilly areas in Meppadi panchayat early on July 30 morning with villages Mundakkai, Chooralmala, Attamala and Noolpuzha among the severely affected. The area which has been witnessing incessant rainfall over the past two weeks faced devastation after the landslide struck, with rivers and their tributaries swelling and changing course, flowing through the villages and wreaking destruction. As per reports, over 150 people have died in these landslides in Wayanad district.
