Act before it is too late

It has been more than six months that devastating floods hit various parts of the J & K State, most notably Srinagar, Anantnag, Pulwama and a few areas in the Jammu province. The floods that hit in Sep 2014, left in its wake destruction and untold misery on the affected people. Thousands of people lost their houses, shops etc and thousands of houses suffered damages of various levels. With the lapse of time, people are trying to restart their lives and move ahead.

The job of the Govt is not over merely by distributing some money as relief among the victims. Even here, the Govt’s role is cme under flak for not helping the victims which would be commensurate to their loss. But that said, the Govt still needs to do a lot of homework and make serious efforts so that the State doesnt have to witness something like this again. Without doubt, no one can have a control on the elemnts but the Govt and even a knowledgeable and well meaning public can mitigate the consequences of such disasters to quite some extent. Just at the end of March 2015, when the met department predicted rains for a few days and subsequently when the water level in river Jhelum began to rise, at places crossing te danger mark, people begin to panic given their experiences of Sep 2014. It was not paranioa or overreaction on part of the people, but a genuine concern that the Govt still doesnt have a handle of dealing with such a crisis. That the Govt needs to get its act right goes without saying.

Most people in the State understand and it has been borne by many studies that there are various factors that have led to the ecological and environmental crisis that the State is facing. Gradual erosion of big water bodies, encraochment on water bodies and flood channels and other public places, a nascent drainage system, unorganised growth of new housing colonies are some of the many reasosn why the stuation in the State is so precarious. The Govt on its part can act in right earnest and take some measures immediately which can reduce the threat of a future natural calamity turning into a huge disaster. Illegal construction, especially around water bodies need to be demolished with sufficent punishments/ fines for the offcials who either allowed these construction or didnt take any action against the culprits. Such a step may seem electorally negative but the Govt needs to bite the bullet on this one, given it can send a strong message to other people/ officials from indulging in such practices. Moreover larger sections of society will back the Govt on this given there is a growing realization among people that they cant remain indifferent to the increaing instances of illegal constructions and encroachments.

The Hon’ble High Court of Jammu and Kashmir has also come down heavily on encroachemnets around water bodies. In addition to dealing with illegal structures and encraochements, the Govt also needs to reinforce the river banks, deslit the major water bodies, put a proper draiange system within Srinagar and other towns of the State. Many new residential areas have come up in the lat one dacde or so, without much thought in terms of utilities, public spaces, proper roads and drainage. Many of these have come up in low lying areas and get flooded even when there is little rainfall. The Govt can improve the drainage systems in these places so that the risk of flooding in these areas is reduced. The Govt cant sit back and watch like a mute spectator. It needs to get its act right before it is too late. 

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