Disastrous disaster preparedness

By M L Satyan

Bengaluru, July 17, 2023: During the last week certain YouTube video footages have touched my heart and stirred many thoughts and questions in my mind.

The video footages from Himachal Pradesh, a popular tourist destination, showed flash floods, collapsing houses, breaking bridges, vanishing roads, landslides, flood water washing away expensive cars, trucks and household items, submerged houses, temples, idols of gods and filth-filled roads, areas and villages created an impression of watching a Hollywood movie.

The situation in Delhi was also pathetic. The evacuated hutment dwellers on the banks of Yamuna are now living on the footpaths of the highways and under the flyovers. They seem to be having the minimum household things (saved from the flood) and the cattle (goats and buffaloes).

The scenes of their living condition take the memory to what was witnessed during the farmers’ protest. They too stayed in such a condition for almost one year. The video footages made many wonder about the inadequate infrastructure in the capital and the utter failure of our disaster management system.

The hardest hit was the Himalayan state of Himachal Pradesh, which received more than 10 times its average rainfall for this time of year. The wreckage stemming from the deluge forced the authorities there to shut down schools and advise residents to leave their homes when necessary.

Jagat Singh Negi, horticulture minister of Himachal Pradesh, said that a total of more than 70 had been killed since June 24 after floods engulfed the state. Rescue workers struggled to bring trapped people to safety.

Torrential rain continued to lash many states last week, including the capital region of Delhi, where roads in several areas were submerged in knee-deep water and court hearings had to be suspended or shifted online, due to flooded courthouses. The officials ordered evacuations in some areas because of flooding.

Government workers used pumps in many areas to drain water from streets, with residents wading through knee-deep water. Delhi received 153 milli-meters of rain on July 9, the highest precipitation in a single day in 45 years, the meteorological department said.

Atishi Marlena, serving as Minister of Education, PWD, Culture and Tourism in the Delhi Government, said that the Yamuna River, a tributary of the Ganges that runs through Delhi, reached the dangerous level and that the government was stationing rescue boats in areas closer to the waterway.

As per the News Click reporters Akshardham, Commonwealth Games Village, Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium and the Delhi Secretariat were constructed against the opinions of environmentalists. All of them have blocked the flow of Yamuna water. Moreover, all the waste materials from the Central Vista construction site were dumped on the banks of Yamuna for months. The local people agreed and said that waste from metro-rail construction sites also were dumped here causing blockage of the flood water.

The recent disaster has been a big loss – hundreds of people have lost their lives; thousands of people have lost their properties/household items; they have become homeless and the survivors have been affected physically and psychologically. Their ‘traumatic experience’ will be long-lasting.

The monsoon rains, spanning from June to September, are vital for India’s well-being, but they also bring about casualties and property damage each year. Recent floods affected Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Chandigarh, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab and Delhi.

In recent years, India has witnessed intensified weather patterns, with the current incessant rainfall following closely on the heels of an intense heatwave that affected much of northern India. While various factors contribute to flooding, experts point to climate change resulting from global warming as a significant driver of increased occurrences of heavy rainfall.

Flood management comes under the purview of the State Governments, and the schemes for flood control, etc. are formulated and implemented by concerned States. The Union Government supplements the efforts of the States including the States of North Eastern Region by providing technical guidance, financial resources and assistance for management of floods in critical areas.

Funds are allocated but the tax-payers’ money is eaten up by the officials. Here is a latest data from Haryana. As per the state government, Rs.100 crores has been spent to clean the drains during the last three years. 100 crores in three years means 33.3 crores in one year and about 9.16 lakh rupees per day. But whenever there is a heavy rain, all the drains get blocked. Our drains do not lie. They expose the “institutional corruption”. This is the case in almost all the states in India.

First of all, every natural disaster creates a spontaneous sympathy. The consequences of every disaster are the immediate relief and the long-term rehabilitation and disaster preparedness related activities that are undertaken by the governments, donor agencies and voluntary organizations. Now the first stage of relief works has started in the disaster affected areas.

At this stage, some environmentalists have started making statements that there was a “zero disaster-preparedness”. The never-ending “blame-game” among the political parties and between the Central and State governments have also started. Whatever said and done, the bitter truth is that India is very much lacking in disaster-preparedness.

When the northern states were facing the fury of floods, ISRO’s LVM3-M4 vehicle successfully launched Chandrayaan-3 into orbit on July 14. As per the scientists Chandrayaan-3, in its precise orbit, has begun its journey to the Moon. The whole country felt proud of this achievement. There is also a news being spread in the social media that an Indian colony will be created in the Moon. Great!

At this stage, we need to raise certain fundamental questions: How can we boast about sending satellites to different planets when we do not know how to protect ourselves from natural calamities like earthquakes, cyclones and floods? Why is our disaster preparedness/management very poor? Should not our scientists, who are experts in doing research in different planets, set up effective disaster management system? When our villages, towns and cities are not conducive for safe-living, why should we spend crores of rupees for space research and activities?

The lack of disaster preparedness/management in India exposes the fake slogans of the federal government such as Incredible India; India shining; The impossible is possible now; Sabkha Sath-Sabkha Vikas-Sabhka Vishwas-Sabhka Prayas; Zero Defect-Zero Effect; Minimum Government-Maximum Governance; Atmanirbhar Bharat and Acche Din.

All these slogans may present India as a superpower to the rest of the world. We need to be realistic. There is an urgent need to keep our house in order and safe first. Charity begins at home.