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| Lessons from the catastrophe! | | Abandoned old wireless system could have provided alternate communication network | | Early Times Report
JAMMU, Sept 17: The experts in disaster management accuse the State Government of not taking preemptive measures to minimize the damage caused by the natural calamities like floods, earthquake, cloudburst etc saying that the J&K is not fully equipped to deal with such disasters.
One of the greatest failure on the part of State Government was abandoning of old wireless communication system by the Police Communication Department which hampered the communication network in Kashmir Valley with rest of the State and country after the flash floods and heavy rains lashed the State creating havoc all around.
According to sources, the good and alternate communication system is the first and foremost thing in disaster management which the State is lacking. Abandoning of old communication system of wireless handsets by the Communication Wing of the J&K Police and totally depending on BSNL networking system has led to present problem, sources added. Sources said disaster management is such a thing in which investment is to be made before hand so that the State is fully equipped to meet such eventuality at any time. But unfortunately no attention was paid to same despite the fact that State has suffered heavy losses during the natural calamities like snow storm in 2005, followed by earthquake which hit the districts of Kupwara and Baramuula, cloud burst in Ladakh and now the flash floods. But every time the State Government has been found napping to tackle the situation as there is no proper mechanism for the same.
Sources said though State Government has a full fledged Flood Control Department but it is totally defunct and the Department does not have any strategy to take preemptive measures to tame the rivers in furry during floods. Sources said that to protect Srinagar city from flood furry, the then Maharaja had constructed the Nallah Maar a flood channel in the City for extra drainage system during floods to save the city from its devastation. But this channel has also become defunct now as it has been encroached by the Government itself after constructing a circular road from there. Besides some residential houses have also been constructed after encroaching the land of the Nallah Maar, sources added.
Admitting this, experts in Disaster Management said that State has no disaster management system. They said by creating two battalions of SDRF and civil defense does not mean that State is fully equipped to face the disasters like flash floods, earthquake and cloud burst etc.
The Disaster Management Authority (DMA)in the State should function on the pattern of Central Disaster Management Authority which has separate wings to fight flash floods, earthquakes, Tsnomy, cloudburst fire etc. They said there is no monitoring on ground which is basis of disaster management. The flood channel in Pattan and Nallah Maar in Srinagar have been encroached and the gates of Nallah Maar could not operate when they were opened to divert the water of river Jehlum two days back. This shows that we lack the proper disaster management, they added.
The experts said the Centre Government had selected the Ramban and Kupwara districts under disaster management plan over a year back but nothing was done by the State Government in this regard. Likewise the Kupwara and Leh districts were selected by the National Disaster Management Authority for school safety programme but State Government has failed to do nothing in this regard, he added. |
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