Kerala, After The Flood: How ill-timed release of dam water, lack of warning led to Periyaar laying waste to Idukki

Editor’s note: This multi-part video series , created in collaboration with the Calicut-based production house, Pulleys’ Junction, tells stories of lives fundamentally altered by the Kerala floods, and the ongoing effort at rebuilding those lives. In the final episode, we visit Idukki, to tell the story of Periyaar, the river that sits at the centre of this story. What locals here told us portends serious consequences for the state administration; release of water from the dams was ill-timed, and, more important, not enough people living by the riverside were sent advance warning that floodwaters were coming their way.