T’puram: Leader of the opposition Pinarayi Vijayan on Sunday accused the state govt of negligence and lack of coordination in handling the flood situation, alleging that administrative failures had aggravated the suffering of people affected by the disaster. He also raised serious allegations over the opening of a dam at Ranni, Pathanamthitta, without adequate warning and called for an inquiry into the lapses to prevent their recurrence.Vijayan said Kerala was once again facing severe flood devastation. According to the latest information available, 5,792 people were staying in 209 relief camps across the state. He said eight people had died while another eight were missing, describing the situation as deeply distressing. He urged the govt to intensify search operations to trace the missing persons and expressed condolences on the loss of lives and for those who remained untraceable.Vijayan said it could never be accepted that people’s hardships were being aggravated because of negligence and lack of coordination in disaster management. Referring to Ranni, he said serious allegations had emerged that a dam was opened without issuing proper advance warning. As a result, he said, traders were not even given sufficient time to move goods from their shops to safety and were eventually forced to take to the streets in protest.Vijayan also expressed concern over the functioning of relief camps, alleging serious lapses in the distribution of food. He said the govt’s own machinery had admitted that there were shortcomings in food supply. Owing to the lack of coordination among officials, volunteers, residents and political workers had to step in to prepare and distribute food in the camps, he alleged.Pointing out that thousands of people were staying in hundreds of relief camps across the state, Vijayan said the administrative machinery should function with greater vigilance and efficiency under such circumstances.He demanded that the government ensure the timely availability of food, drinking water, medicines, safe accommodation and compensation for all disaster victims. At the same time, he said the lapses that occurred during the disaster response should be examined in detail and corrective measures taken to ensure that such failures were not repeated in future. Vijayan said government agencies, local self-government institutions, volunteers and the public should work together to help the state overcome the disaster.
