Red alert came hours after Wayanad tragedy: Pinarayi Vijayan contradicts Amit Shah's claim of prior warning
Thiruvananthapuram/IBNS: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan Tuesday contradicted Union Home Minister Amit Shah's comment regarding a red alert about heavy rains and landslides being sent in advance and indicated that it was a case of too little too late.
Not only was the rain warning way off the mark, but the red alerts also came hours after the Wayanad tragedy, Vijayan told reporters this evening.
Pointing to the continuing rescue work, the Kerala CM said this was "not the time for blame game".
#WayanadLandslides#IndianArmy in close coordination with #NDRF, #IAF, #CoastGuard, #IndianNavy, #Kerala State Rescue Teams & Civil Administration, continues the #RescueOperations in calamity-hit #Wayanad & #Meppadi.
— ADG PI - INDIAN ARMY (@adgpi) July 31, 2024
-More than 1,000 affected individuals have been rescued so… pic.twitter.com/2pj0s8hjEf
A search operation in the landslide-hit zone of Wayanad is in progress amid torrential downpours. Around 200 people continue to be missing while 205 are confirmed dead.
The Chief Minister also said that there was no prediction of landslides from the Geological Survey of India and when this came, the tragedy had already taken place.
Earlier in the day, Amit Shah had told parliament that the Kerala government was given a warning about potential landslides on July 23, a week before the Wayanad tragedy.
"India is among four countries that can provide warning on natural disasters at least seven days in advance," he had said, underscoring that the Centre had also sent nine NDRF teams. "The Kerala government did not evacuate people in time," he had told Rajya Sabha.
