Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has hit back at Union Home Minister Amit Shah after the latter said the state government was forewarned about the floods and landslides.
Addressing the media in Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday, the Chief Minister said, "The central government should also realise that there are serious issues pertaining to climate change. In the past, did we witness extreme rainfall like what we are seeing now? We need climate change mitigation efforts. When something like this happens, you can’t just try to shift blame onto others and shrug off responsibility. Like I said, I don’t think this is the time for blame game."
Pinarayi Vijayan was responding to Amit Shah's statement in Rajya Sabha, where the Home Minister said that an early warning was given to the Kerala government on July 23.
"The Centre has spent over Rs 2,000 crore for developing the early warning system since 2014. I want to clarify that on July 23, the Centre gave an early warning to the Kerala government, seven days before the incident, and then on July 24 and 25, we warned them again. 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," Amit Shah said.
The Home Minister said on July 23, nine NDRF teams were sent to Kerala considering the possibility of landslides. "What did the Kerala government do? Were the people shifted? And if they were shifted, then how did they die?" he asked.
On this, Pinarayi Vijayan said the central government's weather warning was that Wayanad would receive rainfall between 115-204 mm. But in the next 48 hours, the area received 572 mm of rainfall.
The Chief Minister further said that on the day of the landslide, only an orange alert was issued. "Before the tragedy struck, not even once was red alert issued in the area. Only after the landslide took place, on that morning at 6 am, did they issue a red alert," he said.
The Chief Minister said on July 29, 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, he said.
"From July 23 to 29, the Central Water Commission, which is responsible for issuing flood warnings, did not issue any warnings for either Iruvazhinji Puzha or Chaliyar. The Union Home Minister has presented information in Parliament that is inconsistent with these facts," he said.
"When they (Amit Shah) proudly says we are the best (amongst the countries in giving prior alerts), I am just pointing out that such errors have also happened. I am not saying this to blame them," Pinarayi Vijayan said.
At least 158 people have died, and over 200 were injured after massive landslides hit Wayanad district on Tuesday.
