Editor's Pick: The monsoon challenge

The Kerala government has constituted an expert committee to regulate the release of water from 81 dams across swollen rivers. Though the State got some respite on Monday from torrential rains, the water level in the Pampa, Manimala and Achencoil rivers — the three most significant rivers of Alappuzha district — remained above the danger level. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the committee would gauge the quantum of water in these dams and formulate long-term management plans. The Chief Minister also chaired a high-level meeting to review the situation. With rains subsiding, the biggest task at hand is rescue and rehabilitation apart from dealing with water logging in many low-lying areas such as Kuttanad. The death toll is over 35 and many are feared to have been swept away by the floodwaters. Armed forces along with the help of citizens are trying to locate the missing. Mr. Vijayan has asked officials to enlist the services of civil defence volunteers, neighbourhood self-help groups and citizens for flood relief and rehabilitation efforts. He has also directed District Collectors to identify mud-slip prone areas and evacuate residents from those places immediately. Those evacuated have been put up in the 184 relief camps across the State. The southwest monsoon may have retreated but as The Hindu editorial points out today, "the variations in the patterns and intensity of rainfall" and the "precarity of living conditions" together mean that many parts of the country, including Kerala, need a comprehensive, long-term plan in place to tackle the challenge of torrential rains and reduce the risk to life and property. "Nurturing the health of rivers and keeping them free of encroachments, protecting the integrity of mountain slopes by ending mining, deforestation and incompatible construction hold the key," says the editorial. In The Hindu's 30-minute documentary on the environmental issues confronting the Western Ghats, environmentalist Madhav Gadgil, whose recommendations have been largely ignored, was scathing about the State's attitude towards protecting the environment. He said, "We have a lawless society supported by the state's lawlessness." This has cost many lives and resulted in huge losses for the State. Kerala is now gearing up for the Northeast monsoon and the IMD has already issued an alert for heavy rainfall from October 20. At the moment, forming expert committees and preparing for the worst is crucial in reducing damage and this is why this is the top pick of the day. The Hindu's Editorials Slippery slopes: On the retreat of southwest monsoon Greenfield hopes: On rebound of investments past pre-pandemic levels Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Head over to our newsletter subscription page to sign up for Editor's Pick and more. Click here Try out The Hindu's daily news quiz The National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation is exploring which vaccine for adolescents and children? 1. Moderna 2. Pfizer-BioNTech 3. Sputnik V 4. ZyCov-D To find out the answer and play the full quiz, click here. [logo] Editor's Pick 19 OCTOBER 2021 [The Hindu logo] In the Editor's Pick newsletter, The Hindu explains why a story was important enough to be carried on the front page of today's edition of our newspaper. [Arrow]( [Open in browser]( [Mail icon]( [More newsletters]( The monsoon challenge [The monsoon challenge] The Kerala government has constituted an [expert committee]( to regulate the release of water from 81 dams across swollen rivers. Though the State got some respite on Monday from torrential rains, the water level in the Pampa, Manimala and Achencoil rivers — the three most significant rivers of Alappuzha district — remained above the danger level. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the committee would gauge the quantum of water in these dams and formulate long-term management plans. The Chief Minister also chaired a high-level meeting to review the situation. With rains subsiding, the biggest task at hand is rescue and rehabilitation apart from dealing with water logging in many low-lying areas such as Kuttanad. The death toll is over 35 and many are feared to have been swept away by the floodwaters. Armed forces along with the help of citizens are trying to locate the missing. Mr. Vijayan has asked officials to enlist the services of civil defence volunteers, neighbourhood self-help groups and citizens for flood relief and rehabilitation efforts. He has also directed District Collectors to identify mud-slip prone areas and evacuate residents from those places immediately. Those evacuated have been put up in the 184 relief camps across the State.  The southwest monsoon may have retreated but as [The Hindu editorial]( points out today, "the variations in the patterns and intensity of rainfall" and the "precarity of living conditions" together mean that many parts of the country, including Kerala, need a comprehensive, long-term plan in place to tackle the challenge of torrential rains and reduce the risk to life and property. "Nurturing the health of rivers and keeping them free of encroachments, protecting the integrity of mountain slopes by ending mining, deforestation and incompatible construction hold the key," says the editorial. In [The Hindu's 30-minute documentary]( on the environmental issues confronting the Western Ghats, environmentalist Madhav Gadgil, whose recommendations have been largely ignored, was scathing about the State's attitude towards protecting the environment. He said, "We have a lawless society supported by the state's lawlessness." This has cost many lives and resulted in huge losses for the State. Kerala is now gearing up for the Northeast monsoon and the IMD has already issued an alert for heavy rainfall from October 20. At the moment, forming expert committees and preparing for the worst is crucial in reducing damage and this is why this is the top pick of the day. The Hindu's Editorials [Arrow][Slippery slopes: On the retreat of southwest monsoon]( [Arrow][Greenfield hopes: On rebound of investments past pre-pandemic levels]( [underlineimg] Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Head over to our newsletter subscription page to sign up for Editor's Pick and more. [Click here]( Try out The Hindu's daily news quiz The National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation is exploring which vaccine for adolescents and children? 1. Moderna 2. Pfizer-BioNTech 3. Sputnik V 4. ZyCov-D To find out the answer and play the full quiz, [click here](. 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