Water Fury; an article investigating man's role in the recent Kerala Flood. (Listen to the Mountain - Kavery Nambisan & Climate Change is not a Hysteria - Leonardo Di Caprio)
More 9th class content can be accessed by clicking '9th Standard English' label at the right side of the blog.
Kerala state which is known for its lush (extreme abundance) greenery has just finished witnessing two floods that changed her course for ever. The recent environmental trend of extremities is not something exclusive to Kerala alone - our country experiences this in almost all regions.
On
August 8 at Puthumala in Wayanad district a huge stretch of hill over-saturated broke free and rumbled down. This buried an entire
village along its path and a beautiful valley. 17 people lost their lives
in this disaster. On the same day itself a similar tragedy took place at
Kavalappara where a hillside of 10 acres which was soaked in rain with mud or clay came down with huge boulders (large
rocks), trees branches and buildings in a similar fashion. According to
reports, over 20 families were buried under 50 feet of debris (the
remains of something) in this tragedy. Similar Landslides occurred at
varying intensity throughout the ecologically fragile (weak) regions of
Kerala . Although in the previous year if it were the overflowing
rivers and dams that intensified the situation, this year it was mainly the
landslide that are soaked by excessive rain that wrecked a similar tragedy. Inundated rivers and brimming dams have become a familiar scene to every
Keralite now.
If we take a look at the studies on ecological issues
in Kerala we cannot help but see how foolishly we overlooked the warning
given by scientists: Among the 20 regions identified as "Ecologically Sensitive Localities"
in Kerala by Gadgil Committee included Wayanad, Banasurasgar, Kuttiadi,
Nilambur and Meppadi. These were regions mainly where the tragedy took
place. According to another study conducted by the Geological Survey of
India (GSI) it was found that the real reasons for the landslides
include unscientific modification of original slope for cultivation or
construction works, defective maintenance of natural drainage system,
weathered rock mass etc.
Post Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA)
document released by the state government states that after 2018 Floods,
there had been 209 and 342 landslides reported by Forest Divisions and
Revenue Department respectively. Excessive quarrying harmful agricultural
practices construction activities, land leveling and conversion of paddy
fields have been cited by environmental activists as man-made reasons
for the cause of landslides and flooding. These studies demand the raise
of immediate concern of people from all walks of life regarding the
protection of our environment. They also point out toward the need to
stop exploitation of natural resources at any cause.
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