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Learning lesson from disaster Ban illegal constructions 9/18/2014 11:22:08 PM Rustam JAMMU, Sept 18 : Indeed, it was a natural calamity, but it also cannot be disputed that it came about because of the irresponsible conduct and callousness of the concerned authorities in Jammu & Kashmir who not only permitted loot and plunder of forests or allowed deforestation on a large scale, but also allowed illegal constructions on a massive scale that blocked drains. In other words, men directly contributed to what is being termed as a major, major natural calamity. Now that the flood waters have receded to a considerable extent and the affected people and the government have started their activities, may be in a limited way, it is time for all of us to learn lesson from the tragedy that has taken away hundreds of invaluable lives and destroyed infrastructure worth billions of rupees. There is a broad consensus that the level of September rainfall in the state was both unprecedented and “intense and sudden”. At the same time, there is an agreement among the serious sections that it has become imperative to take into consideration the environmental factors that also contributed to the tragedy. The factors which needed consideration are: “Ecological degradation caused by unplanned development and urbanization” and utter “failure to preserve wetlands”. According to a report by the Bombay Natural History Society, the Wular lake, which was “once spread over 20,200 ha, has shrunk to 2,400 ha” and “the Dal lake in Srinagar has been reduced to almost half its earlier size, to 1,200 ha”. Besides as per the Centre for Science and Environment, over the last few decades, almost “50 per cent of the lakes, ponds and wetlands of Srinagar have been encroached upon” and “the banks of the Jhelum have been overrun, reducing its drainage capacity”. The story of the Tawi in Jammu is no different. It needs to be underlined that flash floods caused due to incessant rains in this river washed away nearly 400 buildings and several colonies got submerged. Most of these structures were not consistent with the Jammu Master Plan. It is hoped the authorities would take all these facts into consideration and act accordingly.   Share This News with Your Friends on Social Network     Comment on this Story

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