A case study on the Role of Dams on the River Periyar during the 2018 Kerala Floods Note: This analysis of the 2018 Kerala Floods, completed in September 2018 could not be published due to health and other reasons. The first phase of the 2018 floods before August 15 was more due to mismanagement or hoarding of water in the[Read More…]
A month has passed since the mammoth Kerala floods. I’ve travelled through many flood affected areas and talked to many affected people. The loss is huge many of them are irreparable. Even after one month many people haven’t come out of the psychological trauma caused by the floods. Many say they feel a heaviness in their heart. They feel weak[Read More…]
It is appropriate and necessary to scrutinize the response of the Central Government in a non-partisan and fearless manner as required in a democracy. When the 2001 Bhuj earthquake occurred, Prime Minister AB Vajpayee issued an appeal for contributions in money and kind addressed to ” Dear Brothers and Sisters” giving a list of officials to be contacted along with[Read More…]
The members of Indians Abroad for Pluralist India (IAPI) walked out in protest from the Malayali Samajam event in Delta on Saturday, September 8 after its cofounder Gurpreet Singh was stopped from speaking at the behest of an Indian diplomat in Vancouver. The IAPI delegates, including Singh, Parshotam Dosanjh, Navtej Johal, Rakesh Kumar and Amrit Diwana had gone there to[Read More…]
On August 6 a team of climate scientists led by Will Steffen of Australian National University published a paper in the Proceedings of the US National Academy of Science and issued a stern warning to humanity. The paper which has come to be known as “Hothouse Earth” warns, “We explore the risk that self-reinforcing feedbacks could push the Earth System[Read More…]
The communist-ruled Indian state of Kerala, hit by the most severe rains and floods in nearly a century, has had to overcome not just nature’s fury but also the active hostility of the central government in Delhi led by the far-right Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Even in normal years, Kerala receives an annual average of 2,924.33 millimetres of rainfall, the[Read More…]
Natural calamities such as floods, droughts, cyclones etc happens all over the world according to the severity in weather conditions. Every year the number of forcefully displaced population due to these natural calamities may mount up to millions, and sometimes they sprout into international attention. The latest addition to this group are the flood victims in India, from the southern[Read More…]
The water rose in our house to the first floor The water came suddenly from the river to where it had never come before as the dam had been unleashed into it and it had overflowed even to the midst of the town We left without further ado An old man and an old woman a daughter and her husband[Read More…]
The floods in Kerala has wreaked havoc on the entire state and plunged the state into an unprecedented humanitarian crisis. With over 243 people dead since August 8,2018 , and above 725000 people living 5645 relief camps, and thousands of houses destroyed or rendered unfit for habitation, the impact on the lives and livelihoods of the affected families is going[Read More…]
Naomi Klein coined the term ‘Disaster Capitalism’. After the devastating flood of Kerala the fascist BJP and their parent organisation RSS are coining a new term, ‘Disaster Fascism’. It’s nothing new to them. This is a tried and tested method for them. Awaaz – South Asia Watch Ltd in a report pointed out in a report, titled ”In Bad Faith?[Read More…]
It is procedurally and morally wrong for India government to block international assistance to Kerala from friendly countries and UN. This is a step that belies the faith of ordinary citizen on India’s federal polity. 350 dead, 1m displaced, $20B in damages – Kerala floods is a high order calamity which wiped away livelihood of millions and has thrown state[Read More…]
The flood disaster that struck the entire state of Kerala following the unprecedented monsoon has raised many questions of survival-in-crisis transcending the traditional paradigm of security. For many years, the coastal States of India—from Gujarat to West Bengal covering more than 7500 kilometers of coastline—have been facing several threats from the Arabian Sea, Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean.[Read More…]
The Kerala State Government is absolutely right to disregard FRBMA limits and raise its own funds for reconstruction. (1) We should further bring out how a new Government at the centre next year can then monetise the fiscal deficit not only of Kerala but of all States, akin to a debt jubilee. (2) This is the way in other words[Read More…]
Dear All, I know this letter is a bit late, but I have always been a bit late in responding, as for eons I have tried to be the epitome of the patient, suffering feminine image that has been attributed to me. Now I have been pushed back to the wall and though late I need to make certain things[Read More…]
Kerala is under unprecedented crisis after massive monsoon rains hit the state compelling all the dams to open their gates resulting in one of the biggest humanitarian crisis after independence. Over 400 persons are reported killed while nearly 4 lakh people have been displaced. The final figure of those who are dead or untraced may rise once the situation[Read More…]
Natural calamities like flood cause severe loss of life and property. This loss of life not only includes loss of human but the loss of animal’s life also. Recently, Kerala has struck with huge problem of flood in which more thousands of animals have been affected and many have been died. During calamities like flood, drought, radioactive explosions, etc. saving[Read More…]
The dreadful Kerala flood disaster (350 deaths and 1 million people displaced) is not a natural disaster – it is a man-made disaster involving local Indian contributions (inadequate water storage hazard response and landslides from deforestation) and a major international contribution from global warming due to ever-increasing greenhouse gas (GHG) pollution, with the prosperous First World and Anglosphere countries[Read More…]
Within a week we have suffered floods in France, Toronto, and now a record-breaking monsoon season in Kerala, India which has flooded or endangered 12 of its 14 regional areas. Almost a quarter of a million people are homeless, forcing them into some 1500 relief camps. Sadly many have lost their lives, the toll in Kerala and the states of[Read More…]
Kerala is reeling under the worst ever floods in its history. Since this is state that has a long sea coast and many rivers the unprecedented flooding has damaged the whole economy of the State. Hundreds of people died, thousands of cattle died. Several thousands of people are trapped in the inaccessible flood waters. When I enquired from friends living[Read More…]
The south Indian State of Kerala has been going through a calamity of unimaginable proportions following the unexpected turn in monsoon rains which played havoc with the state’s life and livelihood. Floods and landslides were unprecedented. Displacement too witnessed massive rescue operations and relocation. Nearly a million people are directly affected. It may take several months and years to restore[Read More…]
When 12 boys and their coach were trapped in a Thailand cave, the international community rose up as one. Thai Navy Seal took up the lead in rescuing the kids. Several international agencies sent in their experts to support the rescue operations. Tesla chief Elon Musk took his mini-submarine to the rescue operation’s command centre. It was all over news[Read More…]
Kerala has seen the worst and devastating flood in it’s past 100 years. All the 14 districts have been affected by the heavy rain, flood and land slide. 3,14,391 people are living in 2094 relief camps. The people of Kerala are trying hard to survive and help and rescue as many as they can with the rescue mission teams and[Read More…]
The death toll brought on by floods, landslides and bridge collapses in India’s monsoon-hit state of Kerala has jumped to 94. More than 1.5 lakh people are lodged in relief camps across the state. The airport at Kochi, the busiest in Kerala, will remain closed till Saturday due to heavy rains and resultant flooding. The runway and the parking area[Read More…]
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My Amma (Malayalam word for Mother) passed away on August 22, 2023 at 3.10 AM. It is always difficult to deal with the passing of a parent, that too one’s mother. I thought the grief would go away. No it didn’t. All those bitter sweet memories won’t go away. At night I lie awake for hours. My friend, guide and[Read More…]
