Centre gave advance warning to Kerala on July 23, says Amit Shah on Wayanad landslide
New Delhi, Jul 31: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday said the Kerala government was warned as early as July 23 regarding a possible natural calamity in Wayanad due to heavy rains and nine NDRF teams were rushed to the state the same day.
However, the Kerala government did not heed to the early warning and also did not get alerted even by arrival of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) battalions, Shah said in the Rajya Sabha.
Shah assured the House that the Narendra Modi government was standing a like a "rock" with the Kerala government and people of the state in this moment of the tragedy. He also promised all help from the central government.
Intervening in the short duration calling attention motion on the Wayanad landslide tragedy in the Upper House, Shah also assured help and support of the Centre to the state and the people to deal with the situation.
He criticised the opposition for questioning the central government's early warning systems, and its response to the tragedy.
Shah said early warning was sent to the state seven days ahead of the July 30 landslide. Another warning was given on July 24 also.
"Nine NDRF battalions were dispatched on July 23 itself and three more were sent on July 30," Shah said.
He further said several states, including Odisha and Gujarat used the early warnings provided by the Centre to reduce impact of natural calamities like cyclone.
Had the Kerala government got itself alerted and acted as soon as NDRF teams landed there, losses could have been minimised, the Home Minister said.
Replying to the calling attention motion, Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai informed the House that 133 bodies have been recovered so far and death toll may rise.
#WATCH | Delhi: Union Home Minister Amit Shah says, "... Under this early warning system, on July 23, at my direction, 9 NDRF teams were sent to Kerala considering that there could be landslides... What did the Kerala government do? Were the people shifted? And if they were… pic.twitter.com/P29bTb2buk
— ANI (@ANI) July 31, 2024
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234 held in anti-drug operation in Kerala
Thiruvananthapuram, Mar 15 (PTI): The Kerala police on Saturday said as part of its special drive to crack down on individuals suspected of drug trafficking, 234 people were arrested, and varying quantities of several deadly narcotics, including MDMA, were seized.
The State Police Media Centre (SPMC) stated that on March 14, as part of the drive, D-Hunt, authorities inspected 2,362 individuals suspected of drug trafficking and arrested 234 of them.
The operation was carried out across the state to identify and take strict legal action against those involved in the storage and distribution of banned drugs.
Police registered 222 cases related to the possession of various prohibited substances, according to a statement issued by the SPMC.
Additionally, authorities seized 0.0119 kg of MDMA, 6.171 kg of cannabis, and 167 cannabis 'beedis' from those arrested.
Operation D-Hunt is being jointly implemented by the Range-based NDPS Coordination Cell and District Police Chiefs under the leadership of State Anti-Narcotics Task Force Head and ADGP (Law and Order) Manoj Abraham, following the instructions of State Police Chief Dr Sheikh Darvesh Sahib, the statement said.
The SPMC also announced that a 24-hour Anti-Narcotics Control Room (9497927797) has been set up to receive information from the public regarding drug-related activities.
The details of individuals who contact this number will be kept confidential, it added.
Furthermore, the operation will continue in the coming days through sustained surveillance and the creation of a database of individuals regularly involved in drug-related activities and transactions.
