Political
Diary
New Delhi, 28 July 2020
Flooded & Submerged
TOH? KI PHARAK PAINDA HAI!
By Poonam I Kaushish
Ok, fellow countrymen let lose the volley of expletives,
curse all you want. Deadly Covid 19 is growing exponentially, China has dug its
heels in Ladakh and the Congress-BJP battle it out in Rajasthan. Alas,
if only curses could put an end to our miseries one would have no regrets. But
year after year, our annoyance falls on deaf ears. Whoever said when it rains
miseries, it pours, was dead on!
In summer many parts of India
was in the doleful throes of drought, come monsoon heavy rain changed that to
devastating floods in much of north, west and south. Killed over 3,500 people
displaced 5.9
million people in Assam, 4.7 million in Bihar with
over 300,000 now living in relief camps in both States, affected 150,000 in UP and another 100,000 in
Kerala relief camps even as heavy rain lashes through West Bengal, Andhra, Karnataka, Odisha, Gujarat. and Maharashtra. Bringing
life to a virtual standstill.
Millions of words have been written and
millions more will continue to be written. But it’s like water off a duck’s
back. The
basic question is: Does anyone really care?
Not at all, given that cloudbursts,
landslides and flash floods are an annual affair wherein thousands die, lakhs
are rendered homeless and property worth crores is lost.
Oh, so predictable is
our netagan’s response: an annual nautanki, yawn. Everyone goes through
the stereotype motions --- deluge and relief are freely bandied about. Prime
Minister Modi announces compensation and Chief Ministers follow. The Government sets up a crisis management team. The State
Government seeks Central relief. Babudom analyses
the flood situation and its aftermath over official lunches. Their ideas and
remedies as water-logged as the floods under discussion. Everyone is satisfied that they have done their bit for the
nation. This is our India.
Everything is kaam
chalao! See the absurdity—food grains and fodder arrive at their
destination days after the calamity has struck, thanks to cumbersome
bureaucratic procedures. Rations are air dropped. Never mind if half land in
water and the remaining spark off food riot and killings.
Funds are doled out
from the Calamity Relief Fund. Little realizing that instead of helping the
people, most State Governments use this for purposes other than disaster
management or to create infrastructure for which money is provided in the
regular budget and nor do the State Disaster Boards implement any project
properly.
Why do politicians
always measure the problems in monetary terms? How does a problem get solved by
the monies sanctioned by them? Why is it assumed that one who sanctions
hundreds of crores has done more for floods than another who sends only a
couple of crores. Who will be held accountable for the Administration’s
ineptitude? And which head will roll?
Moreover, why do our netagan prioritise floods only at crises
time? Why is so little done to develop are long-term
responses not developed to what is an annual expected problem? Tragically, exposing the political and administrative
callousness towards human life Remember, similar floods struck Kerala in 2018, Gujarat
2017, Chennai in 2015, Uttarakhand and Srinagar 2014, Delhi 2013 and Mumbai in
2005.
According to the
National Disaster Management Authority around 40 million hectares of land is
exposed to floods (12% of the country’s total land area), 68% is vulnerable to
droughts, landslides and avalanches, 58.6% landmass is earthquake-prone, and
tsunamis and cyclones are a regular phenomenon for 5,700 km of the 7,516-km
long coastal line. Such vulnerable conditions have placed India amongst the top
disaster-prone countries.
In fact, India is the
14th most vulnerable country in the world, due to extreme weather-related
events states the 2019 Global Climate Risk Index Report with floods being the
most frequent disaster accounting for 52% of the total occurrences of
calamities, followed by cyclones 30%, landslides 10%, earthquakes 5% and
droughts 2% losing around 2,736 lives in 2017. In spite of India being a
signatory to the UN’s Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, little has
changed on the ground.
Primarily because flood policies are based on the assumption
that flood disasters result from nature's actions and are not man-made.
Whereas, in actual fact the damage and misery are mostly caused by human error.
Mainly, poor land management and myopic flood-control strategies.
World Bank analysts aver
that though weather forecasts are more accurate now, dam managers, read bureaucrats,
are reluctant to authorise advance controlled releases as operating schedules
usually specify that dams must be filled up as soon as possible and must be
full by the end of the monsoon. While the world has moved to dynamic reservoir
operations based on weather forecasts, our dam managers are reluctant to risk
their careers and order controlled releases in advance, barring Bhakra dam.
Further, the frenzy
of ill thought out development has also worsened the impacts of the intense
rainfall. In the western Himalayas, for instance, there has been a massive
thrust in building infrastructure that has put enormous pressure on the region’s
natural environment. Further, despite warnings of endangering the fragile
mountain ecosystem, the Government has embarked on the contentious Char Dham
highway project to connect four Hindu shrines in the Uttarakhand.
Alongside, India’s infrastructure
for disaster preparedness is deplorable. Worse, the Government seems to be in
denial. Asserted Environment Minister
Javadekar, “The climate in various parts of the world is changing, but it would
be wrong and unscientific to attribute the current flood situation to climate
change.” Environmentalists have cautioned against massive road and
tunnel-building projects in Himachal and Uttarakhand.
Shockingly, in a nation natured on short cuts and quick-fix
solutions, none is willing to learn the ABC of disaster management or finding
lasting solutions. It’s not that they
have to look far. If there are trees, plants and open areas around, rain water
will be absorbed by the Earth, but if we continue to build concrete jungles,
flooding should not surprise one.
Consequently, in a
milieu of criminal casualness by the Government the time has come for a course
correction. But first the Government must recognise the problem, implement
basic suggestions and developing long-term responses. Robust Central and State
coordination and cooperation both pre-and post-disaster, along-with a better
disaster management policy, is essential to mitigate disaster fatalities across
States.
Two, need for higher
public expenditure towards disaster resilient infrastructure: construction of
dams and drainages and for protection of river embankment and canals. Three, installation
of advanced disaster warning systems, particularly in low lying areas, that are
accurate in predicting rainfall in coastal areas.
Four, prioritise
buffers, flexibility and adaptability. This includes reviewing safety criteria
of dams and canals, re-building these with higher safety factors, creating new
intermediate storages, and introducing dynamic reservoir management. Finally,
we must reduce the vulnerability of the poor who pay a disproportionately
higher cost in calamities.
In the ultimate, our leaders need to pull up their
socks and put an end to their reckless drift. There are no
short-cuts possible. It is high time no-nonsense Modi ensures his
Administration lives up to expectations. Unless our netas shed their inertia and focus on long-term rather than
short-term planning to change the way development is carried out, the damage
from extreme weather events will only be magnified.
How long will people
stand mute testimony to a callous and selfish polity and administration bereft
of cure and consolation. And how long will they pray to Lord Indra that
disaster doesn’t strike in their region. Remember, life is not about collating
numbers, but flesh and blood with beating hearts. Neither is the aam aadmi is not a sterile statistic to
be manipulated at will. ----- INFA
(Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)
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