Amicus curiae proposes judicial probe into Kerala floods

In a setback to the ruling Pinarayi Vijayan government, a report submitted by an amicus curiae to the Kerala High Court on Wednesday recommended a judicial probe into the cause of the worst ever floods to hit the state in August last year after it found that faulty dam management led to the flooding.

After going through 15 different petitions seeking a judicial probe into the cause of the floods, the Kerala High Court had in last year appointed an amicus curiae, senior advocate Alex P. Thomas, to help the court dispose the bunch of petitions.

The amicus curiae submitted a 49-page report on Wednesday, which indicted the ruling CPM-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) government for failing to use the dams to control the floods following heavy rains.

Last year's severe floods, which began with rains in May-end and continued till the middle of August, claimed 483 lives and at the height of the deluge, there were 14.50 lakh people in over 3,000 relief camps. Various agencies had assessed the total damages caused by the floods in excess of Rs 30,000 crore.

In Kerala, while the majority of the 80 dams are operated by the Water Resources Department, the rest are operated by the Kerala State Electricity Board.

State Power Minister M.M. Mani refused to comment when the media sought his remarks on the report.

Meanwhile, leader of Opposition Ramesh Chennithala has demanded that Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan should come out with an explanation.

"Soon after the floods occurred, we had said that faulty dam management led to the flooding. We had termed it a 'man-made disaster' and now we have been proven true by this report. We are now waiting to hear what Vijayan has to say," said Chennithala.

--IANS

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