Pinarayi Vijayan denies Kerala lapse in rescue

Thiruvananthapuram: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Wednesday  said there was no lapse on the part of state government during cyclone Ockhi. He said it was an unprecedented tragedy that took place in this century. The state government received Cyclone warning only on November 30 at 12 noon and took measures on a war footing.

The warning should have been given at least three days in advance. Even central ministers said there was no lapse on the state government’s part. Recalling the turn of events, Pinarayi said on November 28 Ocean Surveillance Centre mentioned on its website that fishermen going to sea should be cautious. However, the government didn’t receive any e-mail or fax message.

On November 29  at 2.30 pm there was a message from Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services advised the fishermen not to venture into sea. This was also reported by a section of media. On November 30 at 8.30 am, the MET centre gave information that the low pressure might turn into deep pressure. The map and path given along with the information indicated that the low pressure was 170 km south of Kanyakumari. However,  there was no cyclone warning  or warning to fishermen against venturing into the sea.

At 12 noon on November 30, there was information from national MET centre that the low pressure had turned into cyclone. After receiving cyclone warning, within five minutes the information was passed on to important officials, media and SDMA. But by then many fishermen had already ventured into the sea.

The central government did not comply with criteria: The chief minister said as per cyclone warning norms of National Disaster Management Authority, between three to five days - messages have to transmitted once in 12 hours. The messages have to be conveyed once in three hours about the intensity of cyclone, path and direction.

However, these norms were not complied with in the case of Ockhi cyclone. There was no lapse on the part of the state government which was also pointed out by the two central ministers who visited the state.The ministers had also expressed the need for putting in place an effective warning system.