I see the travel advisory which most countries have
published on India. It says India is a risky place to be. I look at it and
think. Just how big a population these countries support? India. Home to 1/6th
of the population of the world. That’s more than a billion people! If this
billion can survive and live to reproduce more, just how big is this “risk”?
I am still fuming at this, when I hear of the Uttarkhand
crises. The floods which have claimed many lives and have at current estimates
left more than 60 thousand stranded. 60 thousand! That’s a huge number. But floods
are a natural phenomenon right? It can happen anywhere right? Then India is not
really to blame right? Right on first 2 counts, wrong on the last.
While there is still a debate on how this is a man made
ecological disaster, the poor show which is really to blame is the disaster
recovery program.
The news says, 60,000 people stranded. 22 choppers put in
place to ferry them (http://www.mid-day.com/news/2013/jun/210613-uttarakhand-floods-22-helicopters-pressed-into-rescue-operation.htm)
22 choppers for
60,000 people! WOW! That’s 1 chopper for every 2,700 people. Assuming a seating
capacity of 6 passengers, one seat for every 455 people. Just how many rides
will these choppers be making daily? If
all 22 choppers are ferrying 6 passengers and doing 10 rides daily, it would
take 45 days to take out all the 60 thousand people. Just how many would
survive? Floods bring about disease. I shudder to think what would the death
toll be when this happens. Infections, no medical care: children and elderly –
stranded with an endless wait for a chopper? That’s not the best thing to
happen in the world.
I am proud of India and its accomplishments. It has only
been 66 years since independence and India is already on the verge of being
super power. But: a super power which manages just 22 choppers for a
devastation of this scale.
It has been 8 years since the National Disaster Management
Authority has been formed. And all we could manage were 22 choppers. Where are
the others – ferrying politicians and tycoons ??
Having vented out the anger, I still feel India is not a “risky”
place as such. Let’s not jump to conclusions. It is, after all a natural
disaster. Management of the disaster is another thing, but it does not show
that India is a dangerous place. The billion people are still living. With so
many people, problems are bound to be compounded (I am not at all saying that disaster
management in India is good. In fact, the disaster management system in India
is a disaster). I am however saying that 1 billion people still survive to an
old age in India without disasters: hence the travel advisories may not be
accurate.
So just how does the billion survive and where do they get
their fighting spirits from? Faith plays a major role here. In Uttarkhand,
while the latest houses fell to the nature’s fury like a house of cards, the
1000 year old temple still survives. What would you say to that? While some may
argue that the modern and latest techniques used are not good enough; that like
other things the material used is of inferior quality; that corruption has
seeped into house building – something which probably did not exist 1000 years
ago. For others – it is faith! The house of God cannot be swept away by a
flood. Those that died, will find their way to the havens. With the situation at
ground looking so bleak, I certainly hope so!
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