Kerala Floods: Political war starts as Opposition says flood was 'man-made'

Leader of Opposition in Kerala Assembly Ramesh Chennithala demands judicial probe into the circumstances that led to the opening of shutters of 44 dams

Indian men carry food and water aid distributed to those stranded by floods in Pandanad in Alappuzha District in the south Indian state of Kerala on August 21, 2018. - More than one million people have swarmed relief camps in India's Kerala state to escape devastating monsoon floods that have killed more than 410 people, officials said Tuesday as a huge international aid operation gathered pace. Pic/AFP

As the operations to rescue those stranded in rain-ravaged areas in Kerala near completion, a political war erupted on Wednesday with Congress-led UDF Opposition and BJP blaming the state government for a "man-made disaster".

Training its guns on the Left-led state government, Leader of Opposition in Kerala Assembly Ramesh Chennithala demanded a judicial probe into the circumstances that led to opening of shutters of 40-odd dams at a time in the state.

"The government had no idea which areas would be submerged when nine dams across Pamba river, 11 dams in the Periyar in Idukki and Ernakulam districts and six across Chalakudy river were opened," he said.

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