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In battling floods, Kerala is also forced to fight the hostility of the Indian government

THE communist-ruled Indian state of Kerala, hit by the most severe rains and floods in nearly a century, has had to overcome not just nature’s fury but also the active hostility of the central government in Delhi led by the far-right Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Even in normal years, Kerala receives an annual average of 2,924.33 millimetres of rainfall, the highest among all “big” Indian states, and more than double the annual average in the UK.

But this year, from June 1 (the onset of the south-west monsoon which brings the bulk of India’s rainfall) to August 21, Kerala received 2,387mm of rain — 41 per cent more than normal. 

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