Life under watered-down disaster management

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Heavy downpour is not new to the state. So is the lapse in ensuring foolproof rescue activities. Amidst the call for  ‘disaster management’ echoing in the political and bureaucratic corridors, officials from the Fire and Rescue Department have made it clear that they do not own any motor pumps to flush out flood water from houses that were almost submerged in the heavy rains in the city.  The startling revelation that all the pumps were shifted to Sabarimala was made by Fire and Rescue officials in an emergency meeting convened at the Collectorate on Sunday by Transport Minister V S Sivakumar. This lethargy was noted in the backdrop of the heavy damage caused by the heavy rain that has been pouring down uninterrupted for the last couple of days. Sivakumar entrusted the officials of the Revenue Department with the task of availing motor pumps for rent on a war-footing. According to the reports presented by various Tahsildars in the district, 111 houses were partially damaged in the rain. The heavy wind that accompanied the rains had damaged crops, especially in Nedumangad and Neyyattinkara Taluks. But the officials of the Agriculture Department failed to show up in the meeting, raising severe resentment among the Minister and MLAs. In Thiruvananthapuram Taluk alone, 33 houses have been damaged partially. The statistics of the partially damaged houses in the other taluks are: Nedumangad - 36, Neyyattinkara - 40 and Chirayinkeezh - 2. The coastal area received the heaviest blow as the financial loss incurred due to damage of boats and fishing nets was put at around Rs 40 lakh. Forty people have reportedly lost their boats and fishing gear in the sea erosion. Though the Meteorological Department had issued clear warnings that fishermen should not venture out to the sea, the authorities failed to convey it to the fishermen.  The meeting also advised the Health Department to give more attention to the coastal areas, where epidemics may break out owing to heavy rains. The meeting also failed to reach a consensus on issues like free ration and relief camps for the affected.