Floods, heavy rainfall and landslides are annual occurrences in several areas of the country, but poor preparedness has made them more lethal. Lives are lost, people get displaced as their houses are severely damaged. In the last four years there have been over 10,000 deaths, and 38 lakh houses and crops in 1.37-lakh hectare damaged as natural disasters wreaked havoc in several parts of the country. No lessons have been learnt and the Tamil Nadu floods are another reminder of the grim situation.
In fact, maximum killings can be attributed to floods in the country as over 11,000 people lost their lives to it in the last decade. The state governments and the Centre have coughed up over Rs 50,000 crore for creating a response mechanism in this period. Data collated by the Union home ministry shows that this amount has been allocated to National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Forces. Officials dealing with the subject say while the response system has improved the years, prevention is an area that has failed.
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The response system has been excellent in recent years. NDRF, paramilitary forces, Army and the Air Force have risen to the occasion during tough challenges like floods in Uttarakhand in 2013 and Kashmir in 2014.
The report of the working group on disaster management for the twelfth five year plan (2012-17) states that prevention and mitigation are socially and economically more profitable investments than relief and rehabilitation. The group felt that mainstreaming disaster risk reduction in important central sector and centrally sponsored programmes is necessary for effective mitigation. The report stresses the need for enhancing Science and Technology capabilities for effective disaster management.
5 images of before and after the rains
Department of Space approved a disaster management support programme in 2003, and despite pumping in Rs 112 crore for various components for disaster forecasting, the project is not completely functional. "The problem has been preparing for natural calamities. Red tape and a lack of coordination between the Centre and states on the subject have led to the failures," said a government official.
This was once again visible in handling of the Tamil Nadu floods with state government and Centre failing to communicate effectively before the situation went out of control. A government official at the Centre described the situation as "perverse federalism" as the state government did not see the need to rope in the Central government.
Source- India News
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