Kedarnath Disaster
Devastated, stranded lives of thousands of pilgrims and locals at the flood effected Uttrakhand state was saved by the brave defense forces by conducting the largest ever rescuing operation in the history of India. But, the basic question is why the government waited for the calamity to happen? Why they didn't take any appropriate action despite getting warnings from the Met department? And why the local authorities never bothered to stop the encroachment at the temple area of Kedarnath were hundreds of people lose their lives. According to Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report, they have already warned the state government in April that there are no rules, regulations or guidelines for disaster plan despite being a highly prone state to any climatic disaster and The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) standards for the disaster preparedness are not fulfilled by the state.
The state is still juggling between the numbers of the people who have lost their lives and the total damage caused in the flood. Media is covering all kind of stories of the affected people, social websites are full with images of the massacre, both mythological reason and scientific explanation are discussed by pundits and intellectuals and they have their say on this gruesome act of nature. Despite all this calculation the lack of government preparedness and loopholes in the management had led the calamity to this extent.
The TOI report said that there were irregularities in the State Disaster Response Fund; the government didn't make requisite investment ranging from Rs. 5.9 crore to Rs. 67.2 crore during 2007-08 and 2011-13 resulting in a loss of Rs. 9.96 crore. Later, the central stopped the fund for the government as there was no report of the Annual Report of Natural calamity and the records of the funds spent were also not clear. Also, 44 percent posts in the district level were vacant which affected the rescue mission.
The CAG has also notified the Geological Survey of India in which 101 villages were identified as vulnerable in 2008 and so far no steps have been taken by the government for their rehabilitation.
These reports clearly indicate that the corruption in funds and a very casual attitude for any disaster by the government has set the foundation of the tragedy, secondly the illegal constructions of hotels and ashrams on the banks of rivers had caused hand in hand destruction of the place, the Supreme Court order to restrict construction within 200 meters of a riverbed is totally ignored by the builders.
Now the government is ready to follow all norms, I guess we always wait for something to happen before taking concrete steps. Till now there were never any regulations to restrict the numbers of pilgrims in the Char-Dham yatra, but now the government will monitor people just like Amarnath and Mansarovar yatras.
The focus to rescue the devotees from the affected area should now be diverted to re-establish the locals, as floods had left nothing for them to grow again. The Chardham yatra tourism was the basic earnings for the local people of hills, it will be hard for them to survive in the coming years, the destruction itself speaks its story and the reconstruction is definitely going to take years. I think soon a programme for the rehabilitation of locals should be implemented by the state government to create livelihoods and bring their life back on track.
The state is still juggling between the numbers of the people who have lost their lives and the total damage caused in the flood. Media is covering all kind of stories of the affected people, social websites are full with images of the massacre, both mythological reason and scientific explanation are discussed by pundits and intellectuals and they have their say on this gruesome act of nature. Despite all this calculation the lack of government preparedness and loopholes in the management had led the calamity to this extent.
The TOI report said that there were irregularities in the State Disaster Response Fund; the government didn't make requisite investment ranging from Rs. 5.9 crore to Rs. 67.2 crore during 2007-08 and 2011-13 resulting in a loss of Rs. 9.96 crore. Later, the central stopped the fund for the government as there was no report of the Annual Report of Natural calamity and the records of the funds spent were also not clear. Also, 44 percent posts in the district level were vacant which affected the rescue mission.
The CAG has also notified the Geological Survey of India in which 101 villages were identified as vulnerable in 2008 and so far no steps have been taken by the government for their rehabilitation.
These reports clearly indicate that the corruption in funds and a very casual attitude for any disaster by the government has set the foundation of the tragedy, secondly the illegal constructions of hotels and ashrams on the banks of rivers had caused hand in hand destruction of the place, the Supreme Court order to restrict construction within 200 meters of a riverbed is totally ignored by the builders.
Now the government is ready to follow all norms, I guess we always wait for something to happen before taking concrete steps. Till now there were never any regulations to restrict the numbers of pilgrims in the Char-Dham yatra, but now the government will monitor people just like Amarnath and Mansarovar yatras.
The focus to rescue the devotees from the affected area should now be diverted to re-establish the locals, as floods had left nothing for them to grow again. The Chardham yatra tourism was the basic earnings for the local people of hills, it will be hard for them to survive in the coming years, the destruction itself speaks its story and the reconstruction is definitely going to take years. I think soon a programme for the rehabilitation of locals should be implemented by the state government to create livelihoods and bring their life back on track.
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