Fury that frightens
The pictures of raging water bodies in Jammu, and to an extent in Kashmir, instil fear in people. The way complete structures are devoured by tons of mud sliding down as an aftermath of cloudbursts make a scary scene. When the entire region was still reeling under the tragic loss of life and property at Chisoti some weeks back, nature offered us a second serving of her fury.
In many areas of the Jammu province we have seen how swollen water bodies and angry currents of water gushing down from heights into the lower planes have wreaked havoc all across. Right now the life is completely out of gear. The more affected areas are facing multiple crises. The dwellings completely drowned, people have no where to hide, and the provisions to sustain life are lean.
In such a situation, the first thing that the administration needs to do is to aware people on how the climate is going to behave for next few days. This alarm and awareness is crucial to minimise loss of life. And this the administration seems to be doing. Closing down educational institutions and closing bridges and road stretches that are unsafe for vehicular traffic, are some of the steps that have already been taken.
Up ahead, there is much to do. The government at the highest level needs a total rethink on many matters. The development projects that have been executed over past many years have come under significant criticism as many experts believe that environmental considerations have not been factored in properly. Now is the time to take a serious, and urgent call on this. True, we need roads, tunnels, and other infrastructure to make life easy and productive. But that should not be at the cost of environment.
The second important thing is to audit the infrastructure. Why bridges and road patches have collapsed; have the structural protocols all been met?
What also needs to be taken up on urgent basis is a relief and rehabilitation drive. Government, in collaboration with all the agencies in the relevant field, should come to the rescue of the affected people. It is not the time to do any politics, or level critique against government just for the heck of it. It is time to bring relief to the affected populations.
