The future of a society depends on how it prepares for the coming crisis. We should learn this from the flood in Kolhapur Sangli, State of Maharashtra.
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Natural disasters are not new to man. It is because of these natural disasters that many great cultures have occurred and ended in human history. These crises are constantly posing new challenges to man. It is because of such natural disasters that man learns how to adapt to nature. So much so, however, that our future depends on how we deal with these crises. From this point of view, we should look at the floods in Sangli-Kolhapur today.
The nature of each natural disaster is different. As far as the state of Maharashtra is concerned, we have to deal with three main types of natural calamities. The first and foremost crisis is famine. The second is frequent floods, and the third is wildfires and storms. Drought comes slowly, by stealth. Its effects are not immediately felt. Therefore, its effects on nature and all areas of man are deeper. The floods last for a few days. It can strike human settlements in a matter of hours. Two or eight years ago, Maharashtra experienced a similar flood.
What exactly happened ?
In the first week of August, the western and coastal parts of Maharashtra were lashed by rains. The Radhanagari dam was 80% full in the last week of July. At the same time, all the dams in the area were filling up. Rainfall in the first week of August was 50% of the total average annual rainfall. This week, 50 TMC water was collected in Koyna dam. The water discharged from Koyna Dam spread to Satara, Sangli and Kolhapur. Also, heavy rains in the area below the dam further increased the flood situation. On August 3 and 4, the situation worsened. Due to heavy flood in the main part of Kolhapur city and along the river bank, all the roads leading to the city were closed. The floods in Sangli district broke the record of floods in 2005. It is estimated that all types of damage in this area will go up to Rs 20,000 to Rs 25,000 crore.
Disregard for disaster management
One of the questions that comes to mind in the wake of the floods is disaster management. The situation was further aggravated by the increasing rainfall and the inability to deal with the impending crisis. In fact, Maharashtra has the largest dam in the country. So we need to be more aware and studious about dam and its associated flood water management. But in the disaster, it has come to the fore again how much we have neglected the flood, water management in the dam area and overall disaster mitigation till date.
The water in the dam had been rising since July 15. Almost all the dams in the area were 80-85% full. With the monsoon season still half over and the observatory warning of heavy rains in the area, why haven't we started discharging water slowly? Of course, wouldn't that have caused the flood? If not, the floods would have been due to heavy rains. But it could certainly have reduced the intensity of the flood.
The date of this flood is also very unfortunate. On the 1st, heavy rains lashed the area. There were also reports in the local newspapers. There were also early warnings of the impending danger. But no steps have been taken at the state level yet. The unfortunate part is that on the day when the situation was the worst, on the 4th and 5th, all the media and the political leadership turned their attention to the 'repeal of Article 370'. Finally, on August 7, the Chief Minister left his 'Mahajanadeshyatra' and came to Mumbai, and when the Sangli-Kolhapur was full, he called an 'emergency' meeting.
Of course, after that, the Chief Minister of Maharashtra blamed the floods on the Karnataka government and the Karnataka government blamed the floods in Karnataka on the discharge from the dam in Maharashtra. Although both these statements are correct, it shows a general lack of coordination.
The water resources department should have an estimate of the total rainfall, the reserves in the dams, and the amount of water that can be stored in a given time. Officials say he is. As this part is connected to Karnataka, both rainfall and floods depend on the decisions of the government. Despite knowing the history of 2005, it is surprising that the Department of Water Conservation, Revenue and Relief and Rehabilitation of the State of Maharashtra does not coordinate with the Government of Karnataka in this regard. Had there been such coordination, the impact of this flood could have been lessened.
Let alone coordination in other states, this has proved that there is no coordination among the divisions in Maharashtra. In Sangli and Kolhapur, only 10-15 boats were working to rescue hundreds of flood victims. There were many such boats lying in Pune. Even though Pune city is only a few hours away, why shouldn't more boats be ordered?
Due to this lack of coordination among the administrations, the situation in Sangli-Kolhapur got out of hand. The political leadership failed to control the administration. Will the Maharashtra government accept responsibility for this?
After the floods in Sangli-Kolhapur in 2005, a law was passed to appoint ' NDRF ' or ' SDRF ' . There is no movement about that yet. While it states that the law should be reviewed every year , suggestions should be made and situational amendments should be made in it, no improvement has been seen in the law in the last 14 years. The Act provides a detailed discussion of natural disaster forecasting and post-disaster management.
Emergency evacuation of civilians, provision of food, shelter, assistance to NGOs, NCC in case of emergency, assignment of work to them, assistance of Regional Army, Army, Coast Guard, Police, Paramilitary Forces. There are suggestions on how to get help. But was the government's disaster management system working behind the scenes? Such doubts arise. Because, in the media, it was clear that this help was also politicized. It was painful to advertise how various politicians, castes, religious organizations helped instead of the government.
On all these circumstances, retired Principal Secretary Mahesh Jhagde says that the situation in Maharashtra today is such that instead of being ready for the crisis that is looming, we are blessed to be able to compete in the aid package. This attitude of the administration, the political leadership and consequently the citizens needs to change. We need to focus more on disaster relief and preparedness.
The floods in Kolhapur and Sangli districts once again brought the 'Gadgil Report' and the recommendations made in it into the spotlight. After the floods in Kerala last year, Madhav Gadgil had predicted that 'Maharashtra will also have to face such floods'.
What's next
The next few days are going to be very important in this flooded area, says the 'Friendship' organization. In the last 20 years, Maitri has been involved in various disasters in the country such as Gujarat earthquake, 2005 Konkan floods, tsunami and Leh. Disaster relief volunteers are working in the flood affected areas of Sangli.
- Over the next few days, the water began to recede, and the experience so far has been that we need to be prepared to deal with infectious diseases.
- Currently, only rubbish from the floodwaters on both sides of the road remains. The rubbish includes debris, wet clothes, rotten grain, children's toys, and dead animals. So, after this, we have to face this flood of waste.
- Apart from Kolhapur-Sangli, there is a lot of confusion between flood lines and flood levels in other cities as well. It should go away. At the same time, illegal constructions in the river basin should be banned and action should be taken against the officials who allow construction in such places.
- The flooded nallas in the cities should be revived.
- Climate change is no longer just a matter of talking. We are actually seeing the results. Such floods will come again and again. Therefore, we need to look at ways to minimize its effects.
In every natural calamity, we notice flaws in our nature , as a society , in our political system. Which was also noticed in the Sangli-Kolhapur floods we are currently facing. Seeing this situation, I remembered a famous quote from the Chinese general Tsun Zhu , who said , " In times of peace, we have to prepare for the crisis , and in every crisis , try to restore peace ."
The future of a society depends on how it prepares for the coming crisis. We should learn this from the flood in Kolhapur Sangli.
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