Kerala floods: Gigantic rebuilding and rehabilitation efforts are underway in the state.
As Kerala struggles to recover from devastating floods, the worst in over a century, experts on Tuesday said that certain warnings and predictions had gone unheeded. Kerala, criss-crossed by 44 rivers and backwaters, a chain of brackish lagoons and lakes running parallel to the Arabian Sea, create an environmentally sensitive region. Critics have said that the government had ignored environmental concerns and pushed for power plants and coal mines in the state. Ecologist Madhav Gadgil, who suggested a ban on new industrial and mining activities in Kerala in a 2011 report, said man-made problems had played a key role in Kerala floods.
Kerala needs skilled workers to rebuild itself, union minister KJ Alphons had reiterated on Tuesday. Help has been coming in from all over, including Rs 700 crore offer by the UAE. People have been returning to flood-battered homes and many are still in relief camps. Over 200 people have died since August 8 and almost a million were forced to leave their homes. The initial assessment of losses is pegged at over Rs. 20,000 crore.
Here are the live updates on Kerala floods: