Indians never seem to be troubled by the fact that so many people die due to criminal negligence. Disaster management is a joke (for 2013 CAG report excerpts see below). The flash floods resulting from cloud-burst had devastated Uttarakhand on 14-17 June, 2013. The entire Kedarnath temple complex was littered with dead bodies. More than 100,000 pilgrims were left stranded by the flooding and 5700 are presumed dead (many are missing, never to be found).
This was not the first mass murder by negligence and neither it will be the last. But for now everything is forgiven/forgotten. The devotees will march up the hills once more and if mother Ganga wishes to carry her children away to the promised next life, that is just your karma-fal (destiny).
…….
Sacred portals of the Kedarnath temple
were reopened to devotees amid elaborate rituals early this morning....Chief priest of the shrine (Rawal) Bhima Shankar Ling
presided over the rituals as its gates were opened amid chanting of vedic
hymns…About 1,252 devotees including eight foreign nationals visited the
shrine on the opening day…Expressing happiness over the first day
turnout, Singh said it was much more than their expectations. Makeshift tents
have been pitched at several places en route to the temple to accommodate more
than a thousand people.
The tragedy in
Uttarakhand is symptomatic of a larger malaise. India is one of the 10
worst disaster-prone countries of the world. Of its 35 states and Union Territories,
27 are disaster-prone. Over 58 per cent of the landmass is vulnerable
to earthquakes, over 40 million hectares—or 12 per cent of land—is prone
to floods and river erosion. Of the 7,516-km-long coast line, 5,700 km
is prone to cyclones and tsunamis, 68 per cent of the cultivable area is
vulnerable to drought, and hilly areas are at risk from landslides and
avalanches. The combination of natural and human-induced factors—adverse
climatic conditions to environmental degradation fuelled by
non-scientific development practices accompanied by a burgeoning
population—make the risks worse.
(NDMA) and empowered it with requisite legislation in 2005.
which is chaired by the Prime Minister, was reviewed by the CAG between May 2012 and September 2012. Its findings submitted in March 2013 explain the chaos witnessed over the week.
- The National Executive Committee of the NDMA which is
supposed to meet every three months had not met between May 2008 and
December 2012, and there was no advisory committee since 2010. This
impacts evaluation of disaster preparedness. - The National Plan for Disaster Management had not been
formulated till September 2012, six years after NDMA Act 2005, and there
was no provision to make guidelines binding on states in preparation of
state plans. - Only eight states have prepared emergency action plans for
192 dams as against 4,728 dams in 29 states, and inflow forecasts
critical to mitigate risks from floods are available for only 28
reservoirs. - None of the major projects taken up by NDMA were completed.
- The National Database for Emergency Management, which was to
be completed by August 2011, was yet to be operational in September
2012. - Shelters on river banks are a serious risk but a 2004 draft
plan for amending rules on construction in vulnerable areas—particularly
for quake, flood and landslide-prone areas—approved in 2007 is yet to
be formalized.
is because six years after the receipt of the equipment, the satellite
communication network is not functional. The cloudburst could not be
forecast or sighted because the Doppler Weather Radars
bought for surveillance of severe and weather system is paid for but
yet to be operational. The National Disaster Communication Network and
the National Disaster Management Informatics System are still in the
planning stage, seven years after conceptualisation. The army and ITBP
had to be called in because NDRF is hampered by shortage of manpower.
Worse, only seven states had a State Disaster Response Force.
……
Link: http://bharatabharati.wordpress.com/2013/06/23/httpwp-mepei6d-efo/
…….
regards
