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)

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     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.

-Anjoe-

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