Trial by water (Kerala floods, 2018)

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Trial by water (Kerala floods, 2018)

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• Changes over the years:

1. When the Periyar river was dammed in 1976, it was seen that the monsoon through Oct-Dec months would make it very dangerous. The SW Monsoon (July-August) have never made it so ferocious, earlier.
2. In the 1980s, wasteland dwellers were given patta (title deed) for the patches of land they lived on (ownership / possession). 
3. Rocky land on the slope was levelled and houses built. 
4. Many crops came up in the lowland near the river - rice, tapioca, coconut, black pepper, areca nut. Then came panchayat  roads. "Chapaths" connected villages on either side.

• Damage begins, 2018: Landslides and flash floods ran riot across  Kerala (especially Idukki, Wayanad, and Kozhikode). Land was gouged up by excessive rain. Houses were filled with rubble and water. Approach roads are gone. The first problem started at Kuttanad (central Kerala - low-lying area) that was inundated in early July 2018.
• SW Monsoon 2018 in excess: With 29.5% excess showers by August 15, the dams kept storing the water. They have been considered adequate flood hazard management instruments. Dangerous fact was that "an all-time high inflow into reservoir lake and highest daily rainfall in catchment area" was recorded after 1924 (that killed more than 1000).
• Idukki and Idamalayar dams: They were at 50% storage capacity in mid-July and full by end-July. Some suspected that KSEB (that runs these dams) was wanting to monetise the situation (more water = more hydro-power = more money) but then they released water, and soon, everything went out of hand. Red alert across Kerala was sounded.
• Authorities did try: Kerala state, alongwith Armed Forces (Services) and disaster relief force contained the first two spells of monsoon fury but water just kept coming, making it unmanageable.
• Complaints of no-notice, short-notice and poor evacuation: TN opened the spill gates of Mullaperiyar dam without much notice. Same for Kerala's Banasurasagar dam.
• Nipah and now this: First Nipah virus hit tourism, and now the water deluge has (example : the once-in-12-years blooming of Neelakurinji flower in Munnar is not revenue-generating as the town is cut off).
• Long-term plan needed: 

1. Disaster management plan for dam-failure is needed 
2. The Western Ghats are prone to degradation - hence areas with a 30-degree gradient need people-relocation 
3. Madhav Gadgil Committee Report on Western Ghats asked "zoning off" of fragile areas with no developmental activity in Zone 1. Kerala had opposed it ('we are densely populated') 
4. Naked encroachments on the river floodplains to be removed 
5. Toxic waste stockpile in industrial units (along Periyar's banks) was against environmental regulations 
6. Floodplains zoning on a war-footing needed 
7. Legal issues - Laws like "Kerala Conservation of Paddy Land and Wetland Act" has eased converting wetlands for other uses. That is a disaster for the future! Even barren paddy fields cushion incoming floods. Hills and wetlands are water storing  systems.

• Summary : The Kerala deluge is a reminder of urgent corrective action on our developmental priorities, and of putting in place a comprehensive disaster-management plan urgently.

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