Congress MLA alleges 2018 Kerala floods were man-made

On the final day of Kerala’s public election campaigning, Congress leader Mathew Kuzhalnadan alleged that the catastrophic 2018 floods were a “man-made” disaster fueled by corruption in the government. He accused the then Left Democratic Front (LDF) government’s “corruption-driven wilful delay” in opening the shutters of the Thottappally spillway in Alappuzha had caused the devastating floods.

Addressing a press conference in Kochi on Tuesday, Kuzhalnadan said he had recently obtained incriminating audio evidence of the then Water Resources Minister K. Krishnankutty, currently the Minister for Electricty, admitting to a party colleague on the phone that “official bungling and corruption” had caused the disaster, which destroyed houses, displaced hundreds of families and washed away large swaths of paddy in Alappuzha district.

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Kuzhalnadan released an audio clip purportedly featuring Krishnankutty stating that the severe floods were caused by corruption during Mathew T Thomas’s tenure as Water Resources Minister in 2018. The recording claims that the Thottappally spillway in Alappuzha was not opened on request and that water was improperly stored in Maniyar to benefit a private company.
In the audio clip, the person, purportedly Krishnankutty, says that Mathew T Thomas had a role in delaying the opening of the Thottappally spillway, which is critical for flood control in Kerala. The recording claims that the delay was intended to prevent valuable mineral sand (black sand) deposits downstream from being washed away — a move that would benefit a private contractor. The person further alleges that Mathew T Thomas made crores from the deal.
“The Thottapally spillway should have been opened a month ago, why wasn’t it opened? Punyalan Chamayanda, (stop pretending to be holy), the executive engineer, did not give permission to open it even after requesting it. If it is opened, the black sand underneath will be washed away. The contract for that sand was taken by a contracting company called Mary Matha. The contract was given at Rs 62 per cubic meter. If it is sold secretly, it will get at least Rs 2000. It will be sold to the contractor for five crores. After all the expenses, the contractor will get a profit of Rs 300 crore. Chief Engineer Joshi, George Thomas’s sister and Thomas were playing together,” the audio recording says.
Reacting to the allegations, Krishnankutty described the audio as a fake created using Artificial Intelligence (AI). He cited his assembly response on November 30, 2018, to Congress leader Hibi Eden, confirming that all 40 shutters of Thottappally spillway were raised to the maximum level before the floods on July 16, 2018, and again after an equipment issue was resolved by August 15, 2018. He stated that at no time did water level surpass the shutter height.

Terming the allegations baseless, Mathew T Thomas, who is contesting as the LDF candidate in Thiruvalla, said there was no need to reply to Kuzhalnadan’s allegations. The Central Water Commission and technical experts from IIT Madras had studied the floods and submitted reports. “The allegations made by Mathew Kuzhalnadan lack credibility. The people of Kerala know me,” he said.