Sunaina Mir
It is a well-established fact that human beings can compete only with those dangers which can be seen or countered from the front face. But what about those natural disasters and furies which are most unpredictable and come in the most silent hours of the night, perishing the very existence of living life and non-living structures from that stretch of land? Yes, I am talking about the most dreadful floods and cloudbursts which have badly hit innumerable areas of our Jammu and Kashmir this year. Tawi in Jammu and river Jhelum in Kashmir have taken the most gruesome shape and engulfed precious lives, destroying property worth crores of rupees. These floods have filled the beautiful homes of people of Jammu and Kashmir with dirty filth, bringing a post-flood epidemic-like situation in the region.
Since the month of August 2025, we are witnessing massive cloudbursts, landslides, incessant heavy rainfall, washed-away roads, and slipped highways in innumerable parts of Jammu and Kashmir. The first most unfortunate incident of this series took place in Chishoti village of Kishtwar en route to Mata Machail temple, where a gruesome cloudburst engulfed 100 precious lives of our pilgrims, including children and women. After this, on 17th August, we were again badly struck by one more cloudburst in Jodh Ghati and Janglote village in Kathua, killing 7 lives and injuring dozens. This pain was further followed by the death of 34 pilgrims and injuries to 23 others after being hit by a heavy cloudburst on the way to Mata Vaishno Devi shrine.
In addition to this, one more landslide hit Reasi district, killing seven members of a single family. The story of nightmares does not end here. The same night, a cloudburst struck a village in Ramban, leaving four people dead. The grief continued as heavy rains in Jammu city flooded the Tawi river beyond the danger mark, affecting innocent lives and washing away property worth crores of rupees. In short, this natural fury has badly shaken the normalcy of people of Jammu and Kashmir.
Following are the measures to be taken on a war footing to fight this dangerous natural disaster:
(1) Natural Imbalance
Pollution across the earth has caused global warming. This global warming has brought great fluctuations in seasons. Unseasonal rainfalls, melting of glaciers, and cloudbursts are the outcomes of these changes. A heavy check on pollution is the need of the hour.
(2) Today every Indian dreams to buy his personal vehicle. This race has deteriorated the quality of air and increased pollution to infinity. For God’s sake, stop deteriorating the atmosphere just to satisfy your shallow ego.
(3) Stop using factory-made articles, refrigerators and air conditioners which are polluting our air and raising the temperature. Let us go back to our natural and old way of life, which was devoid of plastic, pollution, adulterated food, encroachment on river lands.
(4) Stop blocking drains with plastic bags, bottles, wrappers, shampoo packs, and other garbage of day-to-day life. These blocked drains are responsible for the waterlogging in housing colonies during floods.
(5) Construction of an Embankment
As we all know, the overflowing of a river can be restricted only by the construction of a strong embankment along its sides. Every state subject should donate as much money as possible for this gigantic project of construction. When there is unprecedented danger over lives and possessions, we should voluntarily come forward to contribute. Money and assets without life have no meaning, so please unite hands to resolve this upcoming peril, which can come at any time and again perish everything.
(6) The succeeding step towards the control of flood water is the construction of as many canals as the Government can from the rivers Jhelum and Tawi. In the time of flood, these canals can divert the water in diverse directions, thus preventing the water from rising above the danger mark.
(7) In addition to the already existing dams for hydro-power, the Government, on a war footing, should make a strategy for the erection of more dams so that we can utilize the water for hydro-power generation.
(8) Illegal intrusions must be removed as soon as possible.
Conclusion
In conclusion, I just want to emphasize that it is high time to work on the safety of our lives from natural disasters, rather than relying on factories, industries, burning of fossil fuels, and the excessive use of plastic and rubber products. Let us totally eradicate unnatural products and unnatural habits, and let us go back to nature.