Thiruvananthapuram, August 22: At the time when Kerala is reeling under floods, political parties are blaming each other for the situation. The Congress today held the Kerala government responsible for the devastation in the state. Congress leader Ramesh Chenithala said, “They opened gates of all 34 dams without giving proper information to people. This is a man-made disaster not a natural calamity that is why the opposition is asking for a judicial inquiry. The state government is solely responsible for this.” Chennithala also alleged that the flood tragedy was caused by lack of coordination between the Power Minister, the Water Resource Ministers and the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB).

Earlier in the day, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan claimed that doors of the dams were opened only after the water level had risen to the danger mark and warnings were given regarding this. Vijayan said, “On July 30 water levels were below orange alert and till Aug 7 water was receding, on Aug 8 heavy rain started and water levels began to increase. On August 15 Mullaperiyar Dam was opened. Nobody could've foreseen this, but still, warnings were given and evacuations were done.”

All of the five gates of Idukki dam were opened on August 10 because the water in the dam was almost filled to the brim. The opening of the gates resulted in adding six lakh water into Periyar River every second worsening the flood situation in Kerala.

Heavy and incessant rains have lashed Kerala. More than 400 people have lost their lives in the floods caused by the rains. The Centre has declared it 'the calamity of severe nature'. Vijayan today pressed the Modi government to accept the $100 million aid offered by the UAE for flood relief as the numbers sheltered in over 3,000 camps in the state rose to 1.2 million. The Indian Defence Forces have also launched the Operation Madad to evacuate people to safer locations.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 22, 2018 09:56 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).