When would our governments learn lessons from the deadly Kedarnath disaster?

When would our governments learn lessons from the deadly Kedarnath disaster?

(Sunil Negi, President, Uttarakhand Journalists Forum)

The Garhwali news portal of India CHHYUANL.IN yesterday organised a meeting to express condolence to the bereaved families of the departed souls who’ d been extremely unlucky n unfortunate to be the victims of death knell of nature in Kedarnath on 16th June 2013 sending across a tale of horror n shock. In the history of Uttarakhand , I believe this was the largest n biggest catostrophe after 1803 quake which claimed lives of over one third of Gahwal’s population. Uttarakhand being in the acute sceismic Zone is a constant victim of tectonic upheavals from time immemorial killing people n civilizations n leading to collossal loss of economy n properties.

The global warming due to acute green house gas emmisions, enhancement in environmental unfriendly development, excessive use of dynamites in breaking the mountaineous rocks during the process of road making n other monumental development, construction of large sized dams componded with hundreds of kilometres of tunnels making the hills hollow from inside n huge infastructural constructions near the river sides shrugging off the rules n regulations n increasing landslides due to these so called developmental activities making the smooth flow of rivers unsmooth n squeezed leading to flash floods are some of the prime reasons that result in such periodic disastrous ecological calamities claiming hundreds of thousands of lives. Natural calamities come n go leaving behind a vast trail of loss n sorrow n so are the successive governments that change frequently but hardly anybody learn lessons from these fury of nature to atleast exercise precautions to safeguard the lives n property of the citizens in the foreseable future. Since the year 1803 n before n after Uttarakhand Himalayas have witnessed n experienced good number of disasters, earthquakes n naural calamities claiming precious lives but even after India becoming independent 68 years ago n Uttarakhand coming into a separate political n administrative existence nothing credible n concrete has been done to set right the situation.

The central n state governments have their separate full fledged Disaster Management Authorities with ample budget n technical know how with tremendous man power but to the utter shock, dismay n surprise of everybody, technically n administratively, no resurrective or corrective measures have been initiated so far, to ensure that atleast the sciesmic prone states like Uttarakhand have pre ecological disaster or earthquake informing hi tech radars in order to exercise early accurate authentic precautions to shift the populations of the would be affected areas to safer places quite in advance, not to speak of various other safety exercises mandatory during n after the occurances of such deadly catastrophes. During the Kedarghati disaster hundreds of thousands of people died n several hundred women were widowed, children orphaned and about 300 villages completely shattered n destroyed but to the shock of one and all not a single village out of the three hundred has been reconstructed or victims rehabilitated despite public assurances by the then Congress chief ministers Vijay bahuguna n Harish Rawat who received ample funding from the central, state governments, corporate houses, public undertakings n forein agencies.

(फाइल फोटो – केदार नाथ आपदा 2013)

The financial, social n educational career of every orphan children n widow is at stake n the victimsed families of this ecological catastrophe in total jeopardy even today after the lapse of 4 years. The Congress government in Uttarakhand has changed n those leaders of BJP who were hurling serious accusations at the then political dispensation of Harish Rawat n Vijay Bahuguna of acute corruption with the centrally administered AAPDA RELIEF FUND are today themselves doing literally nothing to provide financial n other form of reliefs to the Kedarghati victims.

(फाइल फोटो – केदार नाथ आपदा 2013)

Instead the issue of opening of liquor vends in Uttarakhand n subsequent supply of liquor the the peoples’ doorstep to earn handsome revenue has become the major priority sector for them despite immense protests from the states’ Matra Shakti n Youths. Sounds shocking indeed. What makes us more worrisome is the fact that the geologists, siesmologists n earth scientists of the country n IIT Roorkie have already after sufficient experiments on the Ganga river basins n flood plains have authentically predicted that any day from tommorrow to the coming 50 years Uttarakhand is bound to experience a very high intensity earthquake up to 8.3 to.7 on the richter scale that may perhaps damage not only the entire civilization of Uttarakhand Himalayas but would also cause great harm to the lives n properties till Delhi, India’s capital. The fast n expeditious speed of melting of Himalayan glaciers is also one of the main reasons of such massive catastrophic mishappenings in the near future. In view of these serious apprehensions n past catastrophic disasters the central n state governments should tighten their belts n find credible ways n means to arm itself for possible safeguards from future mishappenings of vast magnitudes. What do you say friends?