Overview
- Mathew Kuzhalnadan, who is a Congress MLA and a UDF candidate, unveiled an audio clip Tuesday that he says proves top officials delayed a key floodgate in 2018 to serve private interests.
- The recording, purportedly of then water minister K. Krishnankutty, alleges the Thottappally spillway in Alappuzha was kept shut to protect valuable black sand tendered to Mary Matha Construction at a low rate, enabling large profits.
- The clip also claims water was held at the Maniyar project linked to private power generation and that moves at the Peringalkuthu dam worsened flooding in places like Chengannur and along the Chalakudy river.
- Krishnankutty denies the voice is his and calls the audio AI-generated, says he will consult lawyers, and Mathew T. Thomas and Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan reject wrongdoing while citing studies by the Central Water Commission and IIT Madras that blamed extreme rainfall.
- The recording has not been independently verified, news reports point to likely forensic review, and the dispute now looms over Friday’s April 9 Assembly vote as old JD(S) faction rifts and Kuttanad’s 2018 losses return to the fore.