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Journalism of Courage
THe Kerala government on Thursday withdrew an advisory that asked the scientific community to obtain prior permission from the State Disaster Management Authority to visit landslide-hit areas in Wayanad and to restrain from sharing their opinions with the media.
The advisory issued by Tinku Biswal, who is also principal secretary of the SDMA and Principal Relief Commissioner, on August 1 had outraged the scientific community as well as weather analysts in the state.
Saying that the order was misleading, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan later clarified that the state government did not have a policy that banned the scientific community from airing their views or visiting landslide-hit areas.
Subsequently, Chief Secretary Dr V Venu clarified that the objective of the advisory was to discourage statements and opinions by persons belonging to scientific institutions of the state, that may be misinterpreted or misquoted to create panic and confusion among the public. A few such instances have come to light in the last two days, he said.
In a statement, Dr Venu said while there is great importance for scientific studies, it is important that the immediate focus on rescue, recovery and rehabilitation is not lost and that panic and paranoia are not generated on account of misinterpretation of statements or opinions made.
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