2 days ago
Central Travancore politics dives into floodwaters as local body polls loom
With local body elections on the doorsteps, political battlelines are being drawn not just on land, but across the rivers and lakes of central Travancore too.
Environmental issues have surged to the centre of the political discourse as parties crank up their campaign machinery. The Kerala Congress(M), for instance, has sprung into action with a symposium on the recurring floods in the Meenachil river.
Addressing the event, KC(M) Chairman Jose K. Mani called for a complete overhaul in water management strategies, urging the State to adopt long-term flood-control plans. 'River and stream storage capacities must be maximised. Check-dams should follow a seasonal protocol. Desilting and waste removal from waterbodies are crucial, and excess river sand must be auctioned,' he said.
The party plans to compile the recommendations that came up in the symposium and present them to the State government. Interestingly, the KC(M) itself holds the State's Water Resources portfolio, with Roshy Augustine at the helm.
The rival faction led by P.J. Joseph, on the other hand, is launching a protest campaign anchored on Vembanad Lake, which serves as the lifeline for the flood-prone Kuttanad and upper Kuttanad regions.
Charging that neglect and government inaction have brought the lake to the brink, the first phase of its protest kicks off on Saturday, June 28, on the banks of Vembanad near the Vaikom boat jetty .
'Silt, mud, and garbage have choked Vembanad Lake, drastically cutting its storage capacity. Frequent floods and crop destruction have become the norm. The State and Centre have ignored the Swaminathan commission's recommendations. Even the much-hyped Kuttanad Package remains a paper promise,' the party said, in a statement.
It is demanding immediate, targeted action: restore the lake, revive dying waterbodies such as the Kariyar and Thottappally, safeguard paddy fields, and rollout special flood-relief projects across Kottayam, Alappuzha, and Pathanamthitta.
