What you need to know:
- Drowning in misery, Assam floods are catastrophic and the Indian government needs to do something
It is indeed a calamity of unprecedented magnitude let loose by nature on Assam. Thirty districts out of 33 in the state are under water. Thousands of people have been affected by this. Only 12 lakh (4,407,900 people) have been provided some shelter. What is the fate of the rest, no one knows. Social media and the Press have not raised sufficient hue and cry to awaken the conscience of the fellow beings in the state and those in other provinces.
Unlike Kerala, where a large number of people were abroad, living in other countries, had contributed heavily to repair and rebuild the houses of sufferers. There is no visible action for Assam. Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Uttaranchal, Madhya Pradesh are other examples to name a few.
Imagine the misery of small children, women and the elderly who are battling these floods. Many of the rescued would be facing shortage of clothes, bedding, food and drinking water due to disruption in supplies, by road and rail transport. Other hapless victims have lost everything. Their belongings have been washed away. They have lost money. How will they survive?
Half of India is under ruthless floods and the deluge currently as reported by the media outlets. This phenomenon has been repeating almost every year. Even the cosmopolitan cities have been devastated but concrete efforts have not been made. Very old and vulnerable buildings posing grim danger to life have remained in poor shape. When shall partly covered drains along the roads, open manholes, pot holes and badly damaged portion of the roads be mended to ensure the safety of the public?
When will life go back to normal? Commercial vehicles have suffered damage resulted in shortage of commodities for the public who have to shell out enhanced price of vegetables, meat and many other food articles and drinking water. And, corruption thrives endlessly during the rains and floods, as the contractors fill their pockets through shoddy repairs and reconstructions. Every time big promises are made by the concerned departments and the government entities but forgotten after the monsoons. This endless misery needs to be stemmed immediately, to save innocent lives from the fury of the Nature every year.
- The reader is a resident of Dubai.
