Table of Contents
- This is the photo of a bridge in Kerala after the floods
- Mother Nature returns our gift with a thanks.
KERALA FLOODS
- Death toll rises to 370
- More than 7.8 lakh people are in relief camps, 8000 houses have been washed away and around 26,000 are partly damaged.
- Suffered a loss of Rs 19,512 crore and property worth over Rs 8,000 crore.
WHAT CAUSED THE KERALA FLOODS?
- Rain
- The last rival to a flood of this scale and severity in Kerala was in 1924, where monsoons pelted the hapless state with 3,368 mm (during three continuous weeks) of rain. At the time, over 1,000 people are said to have lost their lives
- The 2,086 mm of rainfall this year is nowhere near as bad, but still 30 percent above the annual average. And the monsoon is far from over
KERALA’S POPULATION DENSITY
At a press conference, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan cited a number of reasons why the state is facing such a challenge in the floods — heavy rainfall since June 1 (42.17% excess in the state, 83.59% excess in Idukki); an overflowing Idukki reservoir; geography (low-lying areas, 41 rivers); and a high population density compared to the all-India density
POPULATION DENSITY
- Census 2011 puts Kerala’s population density at 859 per square kilometre, which is more than twice the all-India 382. (total population 3.48 crores)
WARNINGS
Termed anti-development and against people’s interests, the Madhav Gadgil committee report made recommendations to preserve India’s Western Ghats in August 2011. The Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel (WGEEP) The Gadgil committee report, which divided areas of Western Ghats intro three ecologically sensitive zones, recommended 57 restrictions to preserve it
LIST OF DAMS AND RESERVOIRS IN KERALA
NOTES
- The report, submitted to Ministry of Environment and Forests (MOEF) in 2011, was not considered by the Centre.
- Three years later, the Central government told the NGT that they will not follow the recommendations of the Gadgil Committee, but agreed to follow the Kasturirangan report which covered only 37 per cent of the total Western Ghats and which placed lesser restrictions on the government while allowing space for developmental works.
RIVERS OF KERALA
- There are 44 rivers in Kerala, all but three originating in the Western Ghats. 41 of them flow westward and 3 eastward.
- The rivers of Kerala are small, in terms of length, breadth and water discharge.
LACK OF PADDY FIELDS
- 30 years back, Kerala had 8 lakh hectares of paddy field land. At present, we have roughly 1.5 lakh of paddy field land left with us. Moreover, 8,000 quarries are digging up the hills in Western Ghats
- Paddy fields, which had the threshold to absorb water, has been converted into urban infrastructure. Simultaneously, no outlet has been provided that is adequate for water to leave Kerala.
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