Politics Over Landslides Warnings: Was Kerala Tragedy Avoidable?

Over 150 people have died and about 186 others were injured after a series of landslides hit Kerala's Wayanad district amid heavy rains yesterday. The Army has successfully evacuated over 1,000 people from affected areas so far, but hundreds are still feared trapped with government agencies carrying out rescue operations in the affected areas. Several families have reported that their loved ones remain untraceable. Now politics over this issue has also intensified. Union Home Minister Amit Shah today said that the Centre gave an early warning to the Kerala government about heavy rainfall and landslides on July 23. The Home Minister said that the warnings continued for another three days and on July 26, the state was informed that there would be a heavy downpour which could trigger landslides and slush, risking people's safety. Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has reacted to this sharply, saying this is not the time for blame.