Kerala floods: It's a disaster of non-information

Kochi: The information dissemination system of Kerala State Disaster Management Authority and the district administrative machinery needs drastic improvement in providing the right information to people about an impending crisis situation.

The KSDMA said on Wednesday evening that only one shutter of Idamalayar dam will be opened on Thursday. They also said the shutter will be opened if the water level rises up to 170 metres before 6 a.m. and that 82 cubic metres of water per second will be released.

The statement released after a meeting of the KSDMA held at Aluva on Wednesday evening did not have any connection with what happened on Thursday. All four shutters of the Idamalayar dam were opened at five in the morning and the water released was to the tune of 600 cubic metres per second. The KSDMA statement also did not have any correlation with the figure given by the Kerala State Electricity Board Ltd (KSEBL) on the same day.

A statement released by the KSEBL chief engineer (dam safety) pointed out 164 cubic metres of water per second will be released in the event of opening of the shutters. Apart from the confusion, it also shows the lack of coordination by the agencies concerned. The water showed an increase in Periyar much before the five to six hours time frame mentioned by the officials, local people said.

In the case of people residing on the basin of Chalakudy river, the authorities concerned have not bothered to issue even a flood alert, says Chalakudy River Protection Forum.