Wayanad calamity

A massive rescue operation is in progress in Kerala’s Wayanad district, which has been ravaged by a series of landslides triggered by heavy rain. The death toll has crossed 150, even as the immediate priority is to evacuate and rehabilitate as many people as possible. Though it is being conveniently described as a natural calamity, the impact of factors such as climate change, an eco-sensitive terrain and the loss of forest cover cannot be discounted.
As per the landslide atlas released by the Indian Space Research Organisation’s National Remote Sensing Centre last year, 10 out of the 30 most landslide-prone districts in India are in Kerala, with Wayanad ranked 13th. According to a 2021 study, all landslide hotspots in Kerala are in the Western Ghats region, concentrated in Idukki, Ernakulam, Kottayam, Wayanad, Kozhikode and Malappuram districts. Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha and former Wayanad MP Rahul Gandhi has asked the Central Government to prepare an action plan to address the growing frequency of natural disasters in the ecologically fragile region of the Western Ghats. No less important is the need to assess the preparedness of various states and work out ways to make them better equipped to handle such catastrophes. The loss of lives and property can be minimised through an efficient early warning system, which doesn’t seem to have happened in Kerala’s case.
India’s approach to disaster management has improved from reactive to proactive as well as pre-emptive in recent years, but there are still some gaps to be plugged. A major stumbling block is the unwillingness of state governments, industries and local communities to pay heed to experts’ warnings about the ramifications of infrastructure development and promotion of tourism in ecologically sensitive zones. As the nation extends support to a battered Wayanad, there should be a renewed commitment to using natural resources judiciously and sustainably.