Even as the
nation is yet to come to terms with tragedies that hit us within a few weeks’
time, it makes one relook at how ill-prepared we are to face such natural or
man-made disasters.
The cloudburst
on 16 June washed away from Uttarakhand lives of many people- snapping the
backbone of a state, its infrastructure, into several pieces. The floods turned
the once bustling cities into ghost-towns that need to be re-built carefully to
return them to their former glory.
While the loss
of human lives is irreplaceable, the aftermath of the floods is enormous with
the economy of the region- which was held together by together- suffering
immensely. The state, at present, might have been pushed back by a couple of
years on the development front.
As the nation
was somber with the Uttarakhand floods, it took another blow which came in the
form of blasts at the Mecca of Buddhist pilgrimage, Bodh Gaya.
While elements
in politics continue to politicize the matters by playing the blame game, it
does make one introspect the system of which we are a part. The question is
about the timing. It is about how well and how fast can action be taken
whenever we are sounded off on a mishap.
Natural or man-made
disaster strike without notice; the question remains why we are unprepared to
deal with disasters—to forewarn people, handle the crisis and to rehabilitate
the affected.
Every time we
have a disaster, exacerbated by human mismanagement of the environment, we are
caught on the wrong foot. Worse, government agencies make every possible excuse
to shift blame. In all this, we lose precious human lives. Talking about Uttarakhand
floods, we know that Himalaya, the world’s youngest mountain range is prone to
almost all natural disaster. Therefore, clearly this is a spot, which needed
attention and focus. But none came its way. Disaster management demands,
firstly, scientific knowledge to understand and map our vulnerability. But the
fact is that we do little to plan and prepare ahead.
What’s standing
tall amidst the ruins and chaos of these disasters is the resilience of Indian
spirit, a key factor that helps in re-building and soothing the wound. In
the time of natural disaster or man-made calamities what is needed is a
coherent and visible strategy to help people. The plan should not be driven by
politics but the desire to help those who are affected by it and not for
political gains. In current case, the priority should be the relief efforts
without pandering to political leaders who will often do little beyond conduct
aerial surveys. Disasters aren’t about how much each leader has done but how
many lives are saved.
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