There’s a little story about the grasshopper and the ant. The grasshopper was a jolly chap and he sang all day through spring and summer, not preparing for the winter. The hardworking ant stocked up for the cold. Inevitably, the grasshopper almost died when winter came, because he was unprepared.
Is India the ant or the grasshopper? It is unfortunate that the answer is the latter. India is not prepared for a disaster, whether it is a natural calamity or a man-made one. We are just not equipped to deal with an emergency. On November 20, a train bound for Patna was derailed in Kanpur, killing over 142 people and injuring 200. Since it took time for rescue teams to reach, some anti-social elements looted belongings from the wreckage. People were stranded for hours. Hospitals in Pukhrayan were overwhelmed and began refusing patients.
Many survivors had to be rushed to hospitals in neighbouring areas and placed in guest houses and Dharamshalas, where doctors visited them. The serious cases were shifted to Kanpur Medical College, by which time many had succumbed to their injuries. In a case like this, it was imperative for the state to receive assistance from the Centre. What is terrible about this whole scenario is that it occurred because of negligence.
The ‘keymen’ who maintain railway lines are not supervised and are paid a pittance. This system may have worked a 100 years ago during the British Raj, but now it needs an overhauling, given that India is the world’s fourth-largest and busiest rail network.
In current times of climate change and pollution, the natural cycle of nature has been altered in drastic ways, which has led to an increase in natural calamities like floods, snow and earthquakes. Japan recently had snowfall after 54 years. The floods in Uttaranchal and Kashmir, whic took such a heavy toll on the people, is not that far away that they should be forgotten—both were the results of climate change and deforestation. In both instances, we as a nation were not prepared.
Often, it is the poor and underprivileged who are hit worst by natural and man-made disasters. The 2005 Disaster Management Act that gave rise to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) is still a toothless piece of legislation. However, there are a few useful suggestions that have been suggested by the NDMA. Regular drills need to be carried out. The common man needs to be equipped with some knowledge about what to do during an earthquake or flood. Accident prevention and rescue operations can be improved through an added number of staff and personnel who could manage disasters caused by vehicular collisions.
Insurance companies also need to react with a bit of empathy. It was quite shocking that during the 2004 tsunami, the fishing community—who had lost everything, including their homes and boats—were expected to present papers to claim their insurance. The cold, corporate approach does not always work in situations like these where people’s entire livelihood has been compromised by a natural disaster.
Given that India—with its geo-climatic conditions, high density of population, socio-economic disparities, politics and troubled relations with its neighbours—has a high risk of natural and man-made disasters, one would imagine that a well-manned disaster management authority is in place. Rather than worrying about demonetisation, our government should be preparing to combat calamities that are very real and on rise.