14 October 2013, 11:29 AM IST
The way the authorities handled evacuations and all else before Cyclone Phailin hit the affected areas of Andhra Pradesh and Odhisha was a huge relief, not just for those caught in its path, but also those watching on in fear from elsewhere, especially given the experience with the last monster hurricane in 1999 and the assessment of some that this super cyclone could be stronger than even Hurricane Katrina that devastated Louisiana in 2005.
That the deaths due to this natural phenomenon of mind-boggling force could be kept to under 50 (so far) is testimony to the fact that disaster management in this country may be coming of age. However, before anyone jumps up and says yay! please understand that saving people's lives is not the only thing that matters when such large scale evacuation takes place. The even bigger challenge is to rehabilitate all those who have been forced to move out into shelters by the government.
Dislocated families, and their number runs into millions, would need massive assistance when they come back to find their homes flattened, their belongings lost.In fact, resettling them would need even more painstaking effort. It would need as much attention to detail as was given in preventing them from falling prey to the hurricane. Sanitation, shelter, schools, and all else needs to be provided, at some places from scratch, almost. In fact, thinking that disaster relief is over once the cyclone is over and lives have been saved is not even half the job done. The tougher job lies ahead.
However, despite all the good work that the local authorities, the NDMA guys and the met department did of predicting everything so accurately, I still can't figure out this eagerness to turn them into gods. True, for those who had experienced untold misery 14 years ago, proper planning this time indeed was godsent, but they were merely doing their job. Such is the sorry state of affairs in our country that even when an officer or the authorities do their job right, we think they are doing something out of the ordinary. When compared to what it used to be, perhaps, but compared to what would happen anywhere else in the world, it is just par for the course. We are grateful nevertheless for all the preventive measures taken. Seems the relentless media spotlight and devastating images of 14 years ago and elsewhere stirred authorities into action, thankfully.
However, to say that we have learnt from our mistakes would be premature. Seems we are getting better at ensuring loss of lives is reduced if we know what to expect, but are found clueless when it comes to disasters that strike unannounced like an earthquake or a flash flood. In fact, even as we were celebrating the great job done for Phailin, tragedy struck elsewhere - over 110 pilgrims dying due to a stampede in Datia, Madhya Pradesh.
Stampedes at large gatherings in our nation continue unabated. This very site witnessed over 50 deaths in 2006 when pilgrims jumped off the bridge during a stampede. Seems instead of learning, we may be messing up even more. Some of this could be due to the general indiscipline in the population, but the authorities and their casual or less than meticulous planning plays no mean role either.
Of course, you could say that the magnitude of people that come for Indian festivals or 'melas' is so huge that no amount of pre-planning would suffice. Perhaps, but there are still some basics that we forget.
The stampede at Allahabad railway station during the Kumbh mela on February 10, 2013 showed that we can be hopelessly immune to the sufferings of the common man if it comes in the way of creature comforts for our so called VIPs.
I once again accept that the numbers our authorities have to cope with would be unimaginable anywhere else in the world, but that does not absolve them of neglect and casualness. As I pointed out in the post on the Kumbh mela tragedy, one need not do too much more than what is already being done. It is just that someone needs to think through various scenarios and then put in place steps to cater to any eventuality. For example, it was silly to use a single railway station to cater to every special train being operated for the largest gathering in the world, exacerbated by the decision to close some gates to facilitate VIP movement.
Prevention is better than cure is not a mere adage. As the planning in Odisha and AP showed, it helps save lives. We only need to extend its scope, think through all scenarios, and of course, think of the common man as being as important as the VIP.
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