New Delhi:

In a rebuttal to Home Minister Amit Shah’s statements in Parliament, Kerala Health Minister Veena George told NDTV that no red alert for landslides was issued by the Centre. This clarification comes in the wake of Mr Shah’s remarks suggesting that the Kerala government had been forewarned about potential landslides, which resulted in over 150 deaths and 200 injuries in Wayanad district.

Speaking to NDTV, Ms George described Mr Shah’s statement as “unfortunate and misleading”. She insisted that thorough checks of all messages from the central government came up with no red alert. “We have verified all communications from the Centre, and there was no red alert issued regarding landslides. The district administration acted based on an orange alert, which is a level lower in severity,” Ms George stated.

The minister added that the Wayanad district administration had taken preventive measures based on the orange alert, including the evacuation of many residents to safer locations.

Amit Shah In Parliament 

Mr Shah claimed yesterday that the Centre had provided early warnings to the Kerala government as early as July 23. He claimed that the Centre had dispatched nine National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams to Kerala in anticipation of heavy rainfall and potential landslides. “The Kerala government was warned a week in advance, but they failed to evacuate people in time, leading to the tragic loss of lives,” Mr Shah said.

The Home Minister further said that India is among the few countries capable of predicting natural disasters seven days in advance. He claimed that had the Kerala government acted on the early warnings and the deployment of NDRF teams, the casualties could have been significantly reduced. “The Modi government stands firmly with the people of Kerala in this time of crisis,” Mr Shah assured.

Centre’s Response 

Union Minister George Kurian, who visited Wayanad on the night of the disaster, reiterated the Centre’s commitment to supporting Kerala. He said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was closely monitoring the situation and had directed immediate assistance and resources to the affected areas. “Both control rooms of the Ministry of Home Affairs are operational 24/7, ensuring all possible support is extended to the state,” Mr Kurian said.

The Indian Army and Air Force are actively engaged in rescue operations. Two columns of army personnel and two Indian Air Force helicopters have been deployed, alongside NDRF, State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), and specialised dog squads to aid in the search and rescue efforts.

Political Reactions

Parliament proceedings saw heated exchanges, with opposition members stressing the need for robust early warning systems. Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, representing Wayanad, urged the government to extend all possible aid to the affected people and address the ecological concerns contributing to such disasters. Mr Gandhi and his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra are expected to visit the relief camps set up in the district today. 

BJP member Tejasvi Surya criticised Gandhi, claiming that he never raised the issue of landslides in his constituency. He also alleged that illegal encroachments in Wayanad, ignored due to pressure from religious organisations, exacerbated the disaster. These remarks led to protests from Congress members, causing a brief adjournment of the proceedings.

Experts from various fields have called for a review of disaster management protocols. John Brittas of CPI(M) termed the Wayanad landslides as the worst in Kerala’s history and urged the Centre to declare it a national disaster. 
 

Thiruvananthapuram:

Teams from National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune would arrive in Kerala during the day to set up a mobile lab at Kozhikode Medical College to test for Nipah and carry out survey of bats, the state government said in the assembly today.

The move comes in the wake of Nipah infection being confirmed in four persons in Kozhikode district of the state.

Responding to a query regarding the Nipah infection in the assembly, State Health Minister Veena George said that the virus strain seen in Kerala was the Bangladesh variant that spreads from human to human and has a high mortality rate, though it is less infectious.

Ms George further said that besides the teams from NIV, Pune, a group of epidemiologists would reach Kerala today from Chennai to carry out a survey.

Additionally, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has agreed to fly down the monoclonal antibodies that are required to treat Nipah patients, she told the House.

The minister was responding to a query by CPI MLA P Balachandran during the Question-Answer hour regarding the measures taken to deal with the Nipah virus which has killed two and infected two others in Kozhikode.

Ms George said surveillance, contact tracing, categorising them into low and high risk, setting up isolation facilities for them, demarcating containment zones and procuring medicines from ICMR for those infected, were some of the numerous steps taken by the Health department to prevent spread of the brain damaging virus.

Seven village panchayats — Atanchery, Maruthonkara, Tiruvallur, Kuttiyadi, Kayakkodi, Villyapalli, and Kavilumpara — in Kerala’s Kozhikode district have been declared as containment zones.

Soon after the Nipah virus infection was confirmed in Kozhikode district on Tuesday, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had urged people not to panic and to take precaution instead.

“Everyone should strictly follow the instructions of the health department and the police and fully cooperate with the restrictions,” he had said.

One of those infected with the virus was a nine-year-old boy.

The death of the first person, on August 30, was initially considered a death due to the comorbidity of liver cirrhosis, but his son, the nine-year-old boy who is already in ICU, and his 24-year-old brother-in-law are the two positive cases that were detected on Tuesday.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)