Wayanad, Indians (except Keralites) started knowing about this place when Rahul Gandhi in 2019 contested the Lok Sabha election from this place and won. Wayanad came into the limelight once again when three days back the tragedy of a landslide happened there, that killed more than 170 people and left more than 200 injured.
Now, everyone is wondering why this WAYANAD TRAGEDY happened, and what were the reasons.
If you consider topography of Kerala state, then half of Kerala consists of hills and mountainous regions with slopes greater than 20 degrees, making these areas prone to landslides during heavy rains. Additionally Kerala’s fragile ecosystem, extreme rainfalls and increasing population are the many reasons behind the landslides that struck the hilly region of Wayanad recently.
The disaster is turning out to be one of the worst disasters in the recent past in terms of casualties, according to experts.
What Happened in Wayanad?
Wayanad district received more than 140mm of rainfall between the mornings of Monday and Tuesday, about five times more than is expected, as per the India Meteorological Department (IMD). Several areas within the district reported more than 300mm of rainfall during this period. According to the climate experts, the landslide was triggered by heavy rainfall caused by warming of the Arabian sea. As per the director of the Advanced Centre for Atmospheric Radar Research at Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT), a deep mesoscale cloud syste formed off the coast in the Arabian sea causing extreme rainfall in Wayanad, Calicut, Malapuram and Kannur.
The southeast Arabian sea is becoming warmer, causing atmospheric instability above this region, including Kerala. The climate-change has made the rain-laden areas with deep clouds extend southward, which is causing excessive rain.
Why is Kerala Prone to Disasters?
A study published in 2021 said all landslide spots in Kerala were in the Western Ghats region and concentrated in Idukki, Ernakulam, Kottayam, Wayanad, Calicut, and Mallapuram districts. The study said about 59% of landslides in the Kerala occurred in the plantation regions.
The Western Ghats regions of Kerala, which once had thick forest cover now have rubber trees, which cannot hold the soil together.
Human Activities Have Worsened Situation
Construction activities in vulnerable areas also lead to disasters. A lot of construction activities in Kerala are happening in vulnerable areas. More roads and culverts are being built. However, even now the engineering structures are being built based on the amount of rainfall and intensity of rainfall in older days. Rooms for river in many places are not being provided, which is becoming an important factor for flash floods. As per the climate experts “ human activities on the periphery of the high ranges of Wayanad and Idduki are a major factor contributing to landslides”.
Experts are calling the Wayanad Disaster “a man-made tragedy”, which is a direct result of forest, hills, trees being cut rampantly to make way for lodges, resorts and hotels. The Wayanad landslide is also a grim reminder of illegal quarrying in the region. The rapid growth of infrastructure has led to the destabilization of topsoil. This, combined with natural instability of the terrain, has created a perfect storm for landslides.
A decade back, The Madhav Gadgil Committee Report, recommended that 64% of the Western Ghats be designated as ecological sensitive Zones. The report specifically highlighted the need to protect Kerala’s highly sensitive areas, which were marked for no-development, and criticized the state government for ignoring these recommendations.
Following the report, stakeholder states, including Kerala resisted the Gadgil committee recommendations due to concern about development and livelihood impacts. Kerala objected to proposed restrictions/nans on sand mining, quarrying, transport infrastructure, wind energy projects, inter-basin river transfers, and new polluting industries.
Despite the clear warnings and the passage of 13 years since the submission of report, the government’s inaction and encouragement of detrimental activities have worsened the situation.
The tragedy has happened, so many people have lost their lives, so many have been injured and lost their homes. Now political blame battle starts, the Central government had said that the Kerala government was given an ‘early warning’ on 23rd July and again on 24th July, a week before the devastating landslides occurred in Wayanad. Nine National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams were sent in advance but the alleged negligence on part of Kerala government for failing to evacuate people in time.
In the end, the politicians never learn lessons from so many tragedies happening in the country, which are basically due to damage of ecosystem of the particular terrain, be it areas in Himachal, Uttarakhand and many other hilly regions.
Waiting for your feedback on this blog.
Anil Malik
Mumbai, India
1st August 2024