Jammu, May 12: Last time after the devastating Nepal earth quake, we had discussed in these columns that North India too was sitting on a powder keg and how experts were warning us to be prepared for the worst in the days to come.
However within a few weeks time, the Nature has jolted Nepal once again perhaps reminding us not to fall asleep and wakeup from the slumber lest it is too late.
Today’s second equally major earth quake in Nepal is a grim reminder that the issue needs immediate attention as Nature seems to be in hurry to show it’s furry once again.
Recently there were articles on how Jammu and Kashmir was waiting for a major earthquake with experts apprehending an earth quake even greater than the Nepal quake with warnings that it could spell a catastrophe in Jammu and Srinagar cities where unplanned growth of the residential areas had made a mess of the situation.
The experts also predicted that while Jammu city may witness the collapse of rescue operations due to congested old city and other peripheral areas the Srinagar city was waiting for a disaster bigger than the recent floods as in the wake of such a bigger earthquake the flow channels will completely get blocked like Phutkal landslide in Leh and the whole Srinagar city might submerge in water within twenty four hours leaving no scope to initiate rescue operations.
However the disaster management of the state and at the National level does not seem to be taking it seriously as no new initiative is visible on ground making the state as vulnerable as Nepal.
Since the timing and exact position of the epicenter of earthquakes is not predictable as yet experts say that second quake in Nepal might be a wakeup call from the Nature to provide another chance to India particularly Jammu and Kashmir to think of ways and means to minimize the damages.
Adfar Shah, a New Delhi based Kashmiri Sociologist in an article has this to say about the vulnerability of Jammu and Kashmir in such circumstances, “The National Disaster Management Authority recently issued a warning that over eight lakh causalities may occur if an earthquake measuring 8 on the Richter scale occurs in the seismically-active Himalayan belt where Kashmir valley is located. Every time they tell that that the Kashmir valley (Indian Administered) falls in a disaster sensitive zone (Zone iv) but is the state doing any preparation in case a disaster hits us unwarned or even when we are warned time and again. Is there any earth quake mitigation programme being worked out or as usual our desi (local) disaster management will be executed i.e. managing disasters disastrously?………. As for as we the people of Kashmir are concerned, we even forgot the deadly earth quake of October 5 2005, that choreographed massive devastation. Such natural calamities, besides causing severe damage, expose the deep rooted lacunae’s which make us more prone to damage in such an eventuality and also hint at the lack of preparedness from the administrative point of view……….. However the ground reality suggests that managing a disaster always proves to be, in itself, a disaster. In addition to the manmade disasters such as nuclear radiation leakage like the threat of a nuclear emergency and radiation leakage in Japan, the Fukushima crisis deemed to be a race against time, simply an out of control situation for even a technologically developed country like Japan has sent shock ways round the globe……… In Kashmir, the ‘Disaster Management Cell’ in the Divisional Commissioners office has been set up to tackle such issues. The Natural Disaster Management Cell is doing a commendable job under its present coordinator who is a dynamic and active person and uses every possible media to disseminate information and educate public about disaster related issues and remedies as well as precautions. The person makes excellent use of social networking sites for educating people about disaster management and disseminates vital information regarding such eventualities. But alone, Mr Coordinator cannot do much, and we, as a society mush not ignore the various nuances that need to be taken care of when it comes to disaster preparedness. The state government must also invest in this field and make sure that people know about various challenges and issues of safety and work towards making Kashmir a stronger and better prepared, when it comes to handling natural or manmade disasters. Mohalla Committees and Panchayats can also contribute in a big way as well”.
Keeping these suggestions by experts in mind it would be advisable for the government to focus its attention towards the disaster management and awareness campaigns for the people to tell them what to do and what not to do in such situations and how to minimize the deaths during the disasters.
Since such disasters like earthquakes come without warning and give very little time to respond only advance planning and awareness among the population can come handy to save lives as damage to the infrastructure is almost impossible to avoid till we invest millions in safe guarding the old unplanned structures not conforming to earthquake safety standards.
And as we all know that is an uphill task in a state like Jammu and Kashmir hence it would be better if we concentrate on minimizing the loss of life in such Natural disasters for which the old adage ‘prevention is better than cure’ will be the guiding light.