KOCHI: Practising austerity is different from making a show of it. With Kerala’s economy in the doldrums and its finances gone for a toss, do you think we can shy away from getting our main businesses back on rail at the earliest. In short, can we afford to be in a state of mourning for a year?
Best debater
Elizabeth Koshy, Pathanamthitta
Austerity is not meant to be a matter of pretence, rather a necessity in these times. People have not forgotten the Finance Minister’s earlier call asking people to tighten belts while the government carried on lavishly, buying the fanciest vehicles in bulk for government use and renovating already beautiful houses to suit the fancy of elected members. Charity begins at home, so unnecessary expenditures of MLAs and ministers, especially for travel abroad or within India and their stay, should be curbed.
Youth festivals and film festivals can be conducted as low-key affairs, but business and money generating endeavours should not be compromised, as money is the basic requirement for all developmental activities. There is no point moping over what happened and mourning for a year. In fact we have to work with double vigour to rectify our wrongs and put our ailing economy back on track.
RAVIKUMAR V, Kayamkulam
The devastating floods have left a trail of destruction, killing around 300 people, critically injuring many and causing large scale destruction of property worth around I20,000 crore as initially estimated. Kerala now faces a daunting task of rehabilitating flood victims and rebuilding the worst-hit regions. Since the Centre can extend financial assistance to a state only as per National Disaster Management Act, there are limitations for swift flow of funds.
Likewise, since the state government may not be able to mobilise additional resources to manage the havoc wreaked by the deluge, it is left with no other alternative but to practise some austerity measures for containing wasteful expenditure. Kerala is required to revamp its core earning sectors like tourism and plantation at the earliest, otherwise there will be a remarkable dip in the GDP earnings of this state in the months to come.
O B Nair, Kochi
Whenever calamities hit other states in the country, our presumption was the ‘God’s own country’ will be safe. But the worst disaster in our memory has left its scars among people, livestock, infrastructure and property across the state. However, now it is time to rebuild the state with renewed energy and dedication. It is estimated more than I20,000 crore will be needed to accomplish the task. Although aid, both in cash and kind, is trickling in it will be a Herculean task to muster such a huge amount.
The state which spends a majority of its revenue on salary and pension payments will have no option but to seek external borrowings. This will result in a difficult and embarrassing situation as the state’s economy is already in the doldrums. It will be inevitable to tighten belts literally rather than paying lip service, to implement austerity measures from top to bottom in utmost sincerity.
P Mangalachandran, Kannur
There is nothing wrong in conducting youth festivals in the state, even while carrying out flood relief work. The annual state-level arts festivals are morale boosters for the budding youth, and the drag down effect of the one-year break will be hard to make up. No doubt, every rupee matters for a state which accepts even the coins saved by kindergarten children, towards flood relief and an addition of I1.5 crore by avoiding the festivals will be no small matter.
But donations are pouring in for relief and rehabilitation, and therefore, halting the flow of routine life is not warranted. At the same time, all extravaganza should be carefully avoided. The world of cinema is rich, which can very well afford to foot the bill for the International Film Festival of Kerala by itself this year. Let AMMA take the lead in this regard.
R A M Varma, Kochi
Let us not observe a year of ‘mourning’. Instead, let us get on with the rebuilding process with determination and courage. The whole world is behind us in rebuilding our shattered economy and helping our flood-hit people tide over the crisis. This is the time for action - not for inertia and inaction. Let us restore our past glory as ‘God’s own country’. Now, the people will have to pick up the pieces of their broken psyches and try to rise up like the proverbial ‘Phoenix’. Allaying the fears of epidemic outbreak and containing them are our major challenges. Let us focus on rebuilding our state by graciously accepting every kind of help coming from different corners of the world and utilise them without reservation.
T P Kurian, Kochi
Life must go on. We must wipe away the past and start over. Rebuilding, rehabilitation and remoulding must begin in right earnest. Forget the scenes that have tormented us and the loss people have suffered. Cut out extravaganza, opulence and show of abundance. The focus must be on the efforts to bring back normalcy and put the state back on track. Indeed, the fury of the flood will haunt us for long but let us stop mourning. Medicare must get top priority. The government departments, local self-government bodies and voluntary organisations should jointly coordinate the relief work in a cordial atmosphere. Let us stop beating our breasts and start all over with renewed vigour.
O P S Menon, Palakkad
The present condition of the state is not suitable for holding festivals, exhibitions and other celebrations organised by the government every year. The deluge has taken a heavy toll on our economy. Extensive damage has been caused to infrastructure, agriculture, business, tourism and other sectors. The state’s revenue has depleted considerably and it has to depend on Central aid and substantial donations from businessmen and others.
The question here is whether it is a big deal for the state to go in for belt-tightening and put the celebrations on the backburner, at least for a year. No harm will come out of this. See to it all celebrations are held in a low-key manner. For instance, youth fests must only be conducted in schools, while district and state-level youth fests can be scrapped.
T Narayanadas
Rebuilding flood-ravaged Kerala is not an easy task. It may take months if not years. The Centre has its own policies in extending a helping hand to the state. Also, the Kerala Government has limitations in providing the huge amount needed for rebuilding the state on its own. In this situation, belt tightening is the viable option.
To pool money from all available sources is the need of the hour. Onam has passed off without any festivities. Nothing adverse will happen if the government-sponsored (or private participated) programmes like film festivals and youth festivals are avoided for a year. The amount spent for such programmes can be used for rehabilitating the flood-hit. All the government-sponsored festivities should be banned till the last survivor is rehabilitated. Also, the government should abolish all unnecessary appointments.
Saroj Krishna Kurup U, Mavelikkara
It is sad that the unprecedented deluge wreaked havoc on the state’s economy within a very short span of time. Many a man had to give up their valuable assets to nature. But the moment of lamenting upon the unrecoverable worldly possessions has passed and now, it’s time to look on to the bright side of the future.
In my opinion, the authorities should take the responsibility to restore normality to people’s lives. The state’s economy is in the doldrums and all the business sectors are grappling to restore their formal status. The government should step up the rebuilding process to save the commercial sector from misery. Though the task ahead is tedious, we should not even slightly demur during the entire course of action. It is hoped Kerala will pull through these hard times quite remarkably and become a living testimony of sheer willpower.
V N Mukundarajan, T’Puram
Rebuilding Kerala’s flood-devastated economy needs not only a massive infusion of funds but also effective coordination of the reconstruction and rehabilitation efforts. The bureaucracy is habitually lethargic and rule-bound. The government departments are known to delay work by squabbling over their domains and jurisdictional powers.
Therefore, the Chief Minister’s Office must oversee the relief and rebuilding tasks. Teams of arbitrators must be formed for speedy settlement of claims by the affected people. Local bodies must facilitate loss assessment and fair adjudication of claims. A special purpose vehicle must be formed to rebuild public infrastructure like roads that were destroyed during the floods. The services of reputable institutions like Tata Institute of Social Sciences must be used to conduct a social audit of the relief and rehabilitation work. How quickly Kerala recovers from the floods will depend on the political leadership’s ability and willingness to coordinate the reconstruction efforts.
C Jayakumar, T’Puram
A majority of the flood-affected are still in distress and the government is in the process of settling them with adequate compensation and rehabilitation measures, for which an enormous amount of money has to be mobilised. At this juncture, it is quite unjustifiable and inhuman to argue for routine festivals which will drain the exchequer. Moreover, the flood-affected population is not in a position to participate in such festivals. If the circumstances necessitate such festivals, the organisers can source the revenue exclusively from private sponsorships, which will be highly appreciable. The public will wholeheartedly support any activities to restore peace and normalcy to the lives of the flood-hit people.
R Akhila
Kerala has battled one of the worst floods in a century and it’s now time to rebuild God’s own country. The calamity must be considered an opportunity to learn from mistakes and ensure proper prevention and mitigation measures while carrying out rebuilding work. The state requires considerable amount of funds for structural (flood zoning, mapping, catchment area development, etc) and non-structural (capacity building, drills etc) mitigation measures.
Cancelling all state-sponsored functions can help save funds, which could be used effectively for reconstruction and rehabilitation activities. However, the state school arts festival can be conducted as a small-scale event considering the students who’ve been practising for such events for a long time. The impact of such a decision on those who earn their livelihood from the meagre amount they get on such seasonal events must also be considered. The government must tread a middle path to minimise expenditure with due consideration of all the stakeholders involved.