The Supreme Court wants the Kerala government to reply to a plea that three crore cubic metres of clay, silt and debris clutter the beds of Kerala’s rivers and raise the water level to a dangerous extent, especially during the monsoon.
A Bench led by Justice A.M. Khanwilkar has sought the State’s response to the petition filed by Sabu Steephen, represented by advocate V.K. Biju, seeking emergency measures to desilt the blocked rivers before the rains really set in.
Mr. Biju argued on Friday in the court that the State had seen floods in two consecutive years, 2018 and 2019. It had taken hundreds of lives, injured thousands and displaced lakhs. The economic loss is yet to be ascertained, the petition said.
