Maharashtra landslide: Let them rest wherever they are, says man who lost 5 family members
Mumbai (PTI): A 65-year-old man who lost five members of his family in the landslide at Irshalwadi in Maharashtra's Raigad district, has said it is better they "rest" in the debris rather than the decomposed bodies be pulled out and cause more pain to him.
Nine members of Kamlu Pardhi's family were buried in the landslide that occurred on July 19, with only four managing to survive the tragedy. The four were pulled out by locals and rescue teams.
At least 17 of 48 houses in Irshalwadi, a tribal village located on a hill slope in the coastal district, around 80 km from Mumbai, were fully or partially buried under the landslide debris.
As the village, overlooked by Irshalgad fort, a popular trekking destination, does not have a pucca road, earth movers and excavators could not be easily moved and the search and rescue operation was carried out manually before being called off on Sunday.
Pardhi, a farmer who used to provide home stay service to people coming from Mumbai for trekking at Irshalgad, lost his wife, younger son Kashinath, daughter-in-law, 14-year-old grandson and a 5-year-old granddaughter in the landslide.
"My wife, son, daughter-in-law and two grandchildren are buried there. Their bodies may now have decomposed and one cannot even identify them. It is better they rest there," the distraught man told PTI on Monday.
He was at the foot of the hillock and returning home when he got to know about the landslide.
"I can only imagine what might have happened to the five members of my family who could not be saved. I keep remembering the faces of my two grandchildren, but what can I do. I am helpless. I had so many dreams for them, but it is all over now," he said.
His son Kashinath was a graduate and served as a gram panchayat member who worked in the village during the COVID-19 pandemic, Pardhi said.
"He was a very helpful man and was always available for villagers. As the search and rescue operation was going on, I continued to hope all my family members would be pulled out alive. But it was not to be," he said in a choked voice.
The debris was almost 20 feet high and many of the bodies that were pulled out had started decomposing, and most were identified by kin from their clothes, he said.
"The search and rescue operation was called off after consent was taken from villagers as well as the Adivasi Sanghatana. Let those
underneath rest where they are," he said.
The state government has placed them temporarily in containers doubling up as houses, Pardhi said, adding that permanent rehabilitation should be carried out close to the village.
"I have three acres of land but no support," he said.
Sachin Mate, chief of the Raigad unit of the Agari Sena and former village sarpanch who was involved in the rescue operation immediately after the disaster struck, also said rehabilitation must be done as quickly as possible.
On Sunday, the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) called off the search and rescue operation after managing to recover 27 bodies from the rubble.
The rescue operation, which started some time after disaster struck, was carried out manually with the help of volunteers and sniffer dogs as the village is at least an hour away from the nearest motorable road.
State minister Uday Samant told reporters on Sunday that 57 people were missing, while 144 of the 228 people who were staying in Irshalwadi at the time of the incident were lodged in a nearby temple.
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Climate Change crisis: IMD to change parameters to declare heatwaves
Thiruvananthapuram (PTI): The IMD, along with its technical partners, will soon revise the criteria for declaring heatwave conditions in the country, as the present parameters do not suit India’s geographical conditions, according to official sources here.
Kerala, in particular, has faced difficulties in issuing heatwave warnings because of the limitations of the existing parameters.
Sources in the India Meteorological Department said the state experienced severe heat and humidity this summer and, for the first time, weather forecasts were made based on the anti-cyclone system that formed near the Karnataka–Maharashtra coast.
"We have never had an anti-cyclone system form closer to the South before, and this time we had to predict the weather based on it," a senior IMD official told PTI.
Anti-cyclonic systems are common over north-western parts of India, but this year one formed near the southern region, leading to unusually hot nights.
The anti-cyclone caused downward air movement, which pushed warm air towards the surface and prevented it from dispersing at night, the official added. As a result, Kerala recorded night temperatures 3 to 4 degrees Celsius above normal.
Because Kerala has experienced a steady temperature increase during the summer months for the last few years, changing the parameters for declaring heat waves would benefit the state, enabling the authorities to issue warnings more efficiently, the official added.
The IMD currently issues hot and humid weather warnings, although the situation warrants a heatwave warning, as the existing parameters do not allow the department to issue one.
At present, the IMD issues a heat wave warning in coastal areas when the maximum temperature reaches 37 degree Celsius or more with a temperature departure of 4.5 degree Celsius over the recorded maximum temperature.
For plains, the threshold is 40 degrees Celsius with a departure of 4.5 degrees Celsius or more from normal, while for hilly regions it is 30 degrees Celsius with a departure of 4.5 degrees Celsius or more.
Officials said the current heatwave declaration parameters also require these conditions to be recorded at two stations in the state to issue the warnings.
"In Kerala, we hardly get to record these conditions in two areas; moreover, we have severe heat stress that can easily cause a heat stroke. So we have decided to rework the heatwave declaration parameters and the changes will be implemented shortly. There will be a consultation with the Disaster Management Authority also before finalising the parameters," the official said.
Throughout Kerala, temperatures recorded this summer were three to four degrees Celsius higher than usual. The state also reported multiple cases of heatstroke despite regular warnings issued by the IMD and the state disaster management authority.
According to experts, Kerala has become a climate change hotspot, with a steady increase in atmospheric temperatures and erratic monsoons.
The IMD has also predicted a below-normal monsoon this year, as this is the first time two consecutive El Nino years are being witnessed.
