Revenue minister K Rajan
Thiruvananthapuram: Revenue Minister K Rajan said that the India Meteorological Department (IMD) had failed to forecast heavy rainfall in the state. The minister pointed out that no red alert was declared anywhere in Kerala on the day of the recent floods. The minister explained to the assembly the limitations of the state government in terms of flood warnings.
The state cannot go ahead with any weather-related warning bypassing the central government. The state has taken all possible steps to assist the rescue operation. The official agency to give the alert is the India Meteorological Department and they had not issued a red alert until 8 am on October 16. Only orange and yellow alerts were issued at the disaster-hit places at that time. However, the red alert was issued only after 10 am on that day, the minister said.
Meanwhile, Opposition leader V D Satheesan alleged that Kerala was the only state that did not have a protocol for rescue operations. He asked what has the state learned from the 2018 floods in the absence of proper warnings from the IMD and others? What alternative arrangements have been made?
As a response, the minister said that the government has done everything possible for aiding rescue operation. But some places were hard to reach. The rescue operation was delayed as heavy rains and landslides destroyed roads and bridges, he added.
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