The floods that devastated large parts of Kerala in 2018 were not an isolated, freak phenomenon; rather, they signalled something far graver-the ecological devastation of the Western Ghats. Made a UNESCO World Heritage Site three years ago, the Ghats had increasingly become vulnerable to serious ecological damage, threatening the sustenance of their people. The calamity was a wakeup call for the region spanning 1600 kilometres and six states-Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Goa, Maharashtra and Gujarat-forming an ecosystem older than the Himalayas. Documenting the large-scale quarrying, felling of trees and mismanagement of water resources in the region, and mapping its local culture, history and ecology, Flood and Fury investigates the crisis in the Ghats and the policy measures urgently required to mitigate it.
About the Author
Viju B. is bureau chief of the Times of India, Kochi. He reports chiefly on issues at the intersection of development, ecology and culture. While working in Mumbai for various national newspapers, he covered the catastrophic 26/7 Mumbai floods, the 26/11 terror attacks and the Gujarat riots. He exposed the Sindhudurg mining scam in the Western Ghats and the Adarsh Building scam. In 2018, he extensively covered the Kerala floods, travelling to the worst-hit areas in the state.
