By P. Sreekumaran
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Chief Minister V. D. Satheesan’s failure to effectively tackle the floods in the State, which has claimed 15 lives so far, has evoked strong criticism.
That he failed to supervise the flood relief work by remaining in the State capital was bad enough. Worse was the shocking manner in which he participated in private functions away from the State capital, ignoring his responsibility to lead from the front. This was in sharp contrast to the effective management of the flood crisis in 2018 and 2019 by former Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
The Chief Minister incurred popular wrath for using as helicopter, hired by the State Government primarily for use as an air ambulance, for ‘personal’ visit to Kochi. Reports have it that Satheesan flew abroad the helicopter from Golf Club in Thiruvananthapuram to Kochi to visit his father-in-law, who was undergoing treatment!
The ‘insult’ to the people, who were battling for survival following the floods triggered by torrential rains, came in for severe criticism. CPI(M) State Committee member M. B. Rajesh blasted Satheesan for using the helicopter “for personal purposes”. He should have used the copter to rush to the worst flood-hit areas like Pathanamthitta, Idukki and Kottayam. Rajesh reminded Satheesan of his criticism of the previous LDF Government for “its extravagance” in hiring a helicopter. The Opposition likened Satheesan’s callous indifference to the flood victims to Roman emperor Nero fiddling while Rome burned.
The CPI(M) State Secretariat, in its statement said the CM, who heads the State Disaster Management Authority, should have cancelled his private functions and fully focussed on flood crisis management. He did nothing of the kind. He went ahead with his programme by asking the Revenue Minister to do the needful! Compare this with the way an ailing Pinarayi led from the front by remaining in the State capital for over two weeks coordinating relief and rescue operations.
The CPI(M) State Secretariat read the riot act to the Chief Minister. It reminded the CVM that the primary duty of an administrator is to protect the lives and property of the people. Failing to do that amounts to an insult to the suffering people and a grave dereliction of duty.
Giving details of the mismanagement, the Secretariat said Pathanamthitta and Idukki districts which bore the brunt of the rain fury had only an orange alert until Saturday morning. By the time the red alert was announced in the night, many areas had come under water. This was an appalling instance of mismanagement. Nor did the Government take any steps to evacuate the people from the affected areas and relocate them to safe areas.
It also lambasted the Government for failing to rush the Coastal Police to the flood-hit areas. In fact, the Police arrived 13 hours late to rescue the fishermen whose boats had capsized Muthalapozhi in Thiruvananthapuram district. No wonder, the rain-affected people openly said that they missed the presence of a Chief Minister like Pinarayi Vijayan who spared no efforts not only to to ensure the safety of the people but also to speed up rescue and relief operations. That gave the people the confidence and courage to overcome the difficulties caused by the flood fury. Satheesan should have taken a leaf from Pinarayi’s book and acted as a chief Minister is expected to act in an hour of crisis.
What has outraged the people is a video shared by Muslim Youth League vice-president Faisal Bafaqui Thangal showing Satheesan participating in a lunch at his house in Ponnani on Saturday as well as reports of the CM using a helicopter for private purposes.
The State rented the copter for disaster relief. Satheesan, who was the leader of the Opposition in 2018 had severely criticized the then LDF Government for renting a helicopter. Now he is using it for private purposes!
To add insult to injury Satheesan refused to interact with the media as well. When journalists asked the CM about the flood situation, he said his office would brief them! Compare this with tenure of the LDF Government when Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan used to constantly interact with the press during such crisis situations.
In a separate statement, Pinarayi said such negligence and lack of coordination of the Government, which worsened the sufferings of the people was unacceptable. He accused the Government of not issuing timely warnings before opening a dam near Ranni. Traders did not get enough time to secure their goods. The state of affairs at relief camps is equally shocking. How bad the situation is can be gauged from the admission of Government agencies themselves that there was a serious lapse in food distribution, Pinarayi added.
Weather scientists said that while monitoring the features of the monsoon, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD)’s automatic weather station at Loha in Pathanamthitta failed to properly account for the local convection triggered by temperature fluctuations. These fluctuations, it is said, drew in more moisture-laden winds while the presence of Western Ghats helped the formation of cumulonimbus clouds.
At the end of the day, it can be said with certainty that the recurring rain-related calamities have badly exposed the shortcomings in the State’s disaster preparedness and weather forecasting systems. CPI state secretary Binoy Viswam hit the nail on the head when he said that the priority should be rescue operations and emergency response. The latest incident, he added, once again underscores the need for serious introspection into the State’s disaster preparedness and weather forecasting mechanisms. (IPA Service)
