news details |
|
|
| Flash floods in Jammu, strange but true | | | S.S. Rissam | 9/2/2011 12:29:15 AM |
| The term "flood" is a condition which is general or temporary which causes partial or complete inundation of normally dry land areas because of overflow of inland or tidal waters or from the unusual and rapid accumulation or runoff of surface waters from any source. Flooding and flash flooding are one of the worst natural disasters which happen on earth. Floodwaters cause death of thousands of lives every year and render millions of people homeless.
One of the terrifying things about flooding is that it can occur nearly anywhere and at any time. It can result from excess water logging on rivers, even moderate rain, or a single very heavy downpour as it occurred in J&K state recently. Heavy down pour in the form of rain, brings down more water which than cannot be disposed off because of natural or man made systems resulting into flooding in any particular area.
In J&K, people have now got to know about the flash floods as it has striked in our state almost twice in a year. The first devastation in J&K caused by flash floods was last year in Leh where rains hit the town and adjoining villages in middle of night at around 2 AM. Various buildings and mud-houses in old Leh town were wiped out in the incessant rains. At least 103 people were killed and another 370 were injured. While many villages like Sabu, Phyang, Nimoo and Choglamsar were affected, the city bore the maximum brunt of the calamity. The cloudbursts caused these flash floods which left a trail of death and destruction. The district hospital was flooded, bus stands flattened and vehicles were seen floating in the town. Basically, flash floods are floods that happen very suddenly and with little warning. They are very dangerous. A very heavy rain or an accident like a dam break can cause one. Sometimes the ground is too hard or too wet to soak up water. The only place the rain can go is downstream. Usually rainfall of more than one inch in one hour is needed to cause a flash flood. Sometimes a place can get hit by a flash flood even if it's sunny because it might be raining on higher ground somewhere.
The second devastation, which was witnessed, was in Jammu when few days back rains caused flash floods in low lying areas of Jammu. When we talk to experts, on this issue they say that the incident in Leh was somewhere because of natural calamity but what happened in Jammu according to them it is all clearly result of man made problems, which are in the form of mass land grabbing of these areas by the people living there. All the areas which were flooded in Jammu had something in common, that they were either located on the nullahs or were close to nullahs which exist for last many decades and is a natural way for the rain water to pass.
Actually if today we see all these nullahs have been occupied by mass construction done on the beds of these nullahs which has now converted these nullahs in the shape of drains. This is the result of our interference in the natural path of the rain water which is causing these flash floods in Jammu. We cannot blame the nature for this fury and devastation which was witnessed in the Jammu. Somewhere we are inviting the floods by ourselves getting close to the areas which are otherwise the area to be used by nature for continuing with its natural process.
This all land grabbing done on the beds of nullah's is because of the people doing it in connivance with the employees of concerned department, who tell them the ways out to do this grabbing by taking bribes from them as they have been successfully doing it in various other areas of Jammu also where land mafia is operating because of unholy nexus between politicians, police officers & employees of concerned departments. Otherwise we cannot say that the people are doing all this on their own. How can such things are going unnoticed which are done in such a large number? Many probes have been ordered to unearth this holy nexus but no results have come out till today. There are certain areas in Jammu where the politicians out of their constituency fund are getting diversion of nullahs done in their own presence. We don't know why they are spending funds for diverting those nullahs? Are they expecting some personal gains out of those nullahs later? The concerned department is turning its eyes away from this issue because a bigger eye has been kept on it by the authority holders. So it is easily leading to conversion of nullahs into drains. Immediately steps should be taken to restore the path of the nullahs by stopping all illegal constructions as well as land grabbing. People are forgetting that their greed is giving an invitation to serious trouble for their families. We are clearly loosing out time, as the nature is feeling choked with all this land grabbing and illegal constructions as a result of which it has showed us its furious form. The day is not far when a larger destruction will be witnessed in Jammu when there will be mass loss of lives and property. The easy method adopted by authorities is that when ever such calamities happen they announce compensation which is so poor and less that it cannot compensate the loss caused. Why not fund distributed in form of compensation is instead used earlier for proper implementation of various policies which could stop such man made disasters? We should take it as a lesson and try to mend our way by making way for the nature to carry on its activities in a natural way. We are somewhere challenging the nature by trying to interfere in its activities. We should not forget that the day nature starts fighting for its rights the mankind may face the devastation. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
STOCK UPDATE |
|
|
 |
| BSE
Sensex |
 |
| NSE
Nifty |
|
|
| |
CRICKET UPDATE |
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
