Prof Nutan K Resutra
That’s right; I am the culprit. I am responsible for the rain havoc being caused everywhere! People feel the so -called “Wrath of God” when they find their homes and belongings and savings submerged in water and debris of the nallahs. In most of the cases of cloud bursts, they do not get a chance to even save their lives, not to talk of the valuables etc. And the instances of cloud bursts have also become very common and manyfold. Even the Metrological Department has started issuing warnings that read like this: “Heavy to very heavy rain is expected in next thirty-six hours in all districts of Jammu Provinces with apprehensions of cloudbursts, flash floods and landslides with water logging at vulnerable places. People are advised not to take journeys if not very necessary. Stay alert.” This follows yellow or orange rain alert, which sometimes becomes red alert also.
Earlier, these alerts and messages of the IMD were hardly taken seriously; more so by the people of Jamu and Kashmir. We always thought these landslides and cloudburst are something very rare and are a phenomenon belonging to either Uttarakhand or Himachal Pradesh and no such thing can ever happen here. We always brushed aside such warnings and the tragedies of Dhrali or Thrali or Chamoli or Kedarnath that seemed just headlines of news to be either watched or just discussed among others. But with the tragedy striking in Chashoti of Kishtwar during the Annual Machail Yatra, suddenly everyone seems to have woken up to the alerts of the IMD; the Department of School Education swinging into action and promptly closing down all educational institutions, lest some untoward happens. Highly appreciable on the part of the Department to do so.Perplexed people are asking: why is this happening? And I say, I am the culprit!
Let me narrate you the latest incident. While I waswriting this piece, I heard that just eight kilometres from Udhampur on the Srinagar Highway, a massive landslide occurred at a place called Tharad and the whole of the Petrol Pump has been buried underneath.Also, Tawi River is flowing above the danger mark in all areas; approach road to the Fourth Tawi Bridge has caved in; many other bridges have also given way to the fury of different rivers and nallahs.
Let me quote one case only. The incident of landslide at Tharad Petrol Pump goes back to even before the work on the four-laneing of the Udhampur Srinagar project had started. There used to be a bowli at this spot with drops and drops always trickling down from the hills, and its sweet water quenching thirst of all passers-bye. I too happened to sit there some couple of times along with my family for small picnics. But when the road widening work started, the bowli became the first casualty and it was buried somewhere under the man-made project of road and petrol pump. Fair enough. But did anyone ever thought where would the trickling water from the hills go? Frankly, no one bothered about that bowli, least of all thinking of providing a proper outlet to that perennial water flow. And the outcome is the landslide with massive debris engulfing the whole of the petrol pump. Afterall, the trickling water did find its outlet after so many years.
These incidents have become such regular features in Uttarakhand that it appears Dhami Government makes more use of the NDRF and SDRF than law enforcing agencies. I find a typical statement of the Chief Minister in the news: “I am in touch with the authorities of the calamity area!”And rescue and relief operations have become so common that they hardly find a place on the national platform.
I cannot miss to talk about the water entering houses of people especially of Lower Roop Nagar, Talab Tillo and other low- lying areas in Jammu during last two days. It is indeed painful to learn about their plight when their clothes and electrical equipment and other belongings become unworthy of use because those are covered with mud and debris of the adjoining nallahs.Everyone who hears of it is pained. But again, the same thing: I am the culprit. My esteemed readers must be wondering how and why I can say this. Simple friends. Let us first of all understand one thing: all these so- called natural calamities are not natural, they are wholly man- made!
Let me accept blame and submit that I am the culprit; because I encroached upon the nallahs by cutting colonies and plots in greed for some quick bucks. The rain water that otherwise had a free flow was stopped by these artificial things. But then water is water. We can stop it for some time, but not forever. With a consistent rain, it breaches all barriers and enters houses that had become its obstruction; thus destroying human property and even human lives. Same thing happened at Gangyal and other areas constructed on the beds of nallas, ultimately either shrinking them or totally vanishing them from the ground. And I do not stop here. The cloud bursts and flash floods are the outcome of deforestation that have resulted into global warming. But then, let us blame nature for our own deeds, rather misdeeds.
In Uttarakhand and Himachal especially, we have attempted to cross all limits by resorting to unstoppable conversion of green jungles into concrete ones. The mad race for tourism money has blinded us paving way for ruthless plundering of mother nature. We come across umpteen news items mentioning so called planting of lakhs and lakhs of saplings alongthe newly constructed highways or the chopped off trees: even photo shoots of the VIPs planting them are also there. On ground, these prove to be hollow slogans and news items only. One wonders what happened to all those plants? Dharali, the latest case of Uttarakhand was nothing but a town built right in the centre of the rainy nallah. One flow, and everything was washed away. A rush to cut mountains and build roads with scant care for water sources seems to have waken up mountains who have literally started moving, bringing unprecedented chaos and destruction for the mankind.
When we were small children in schools, teachers would slap us whenever we made mistakes. Now, the Mother Nature is slapping us time and again, warning us that we are making mistakes: but are we listening to her? I fear; no. That is why whenever there are such natural calamities, I say: Bhgwan, main hi doshi hoon!
(The author is former Principal GGM Science College and former Chairman, J&K BOSE)
