The flash floods and the resultant mishaps including the loss of human lives are the fallout of the failure of local bodies to fortify the metropolis from floodwater

Tamil Nadu, is at the receiving end of the North East Monsoon from October to December every year. Cyclones, tornadoes and tidal waves attacking the 1076 km long coastline is a routine event during this period. The Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS), a research and development organisation under the Ministry of Earth Sciences based in Hyderabad keeps the nation abreast of all aberrations taking place on the sea surface as well as underneath the sea including tsunami waves.

Tamil Nadu is one of the States enjoying top priority in the 24/7 control room of the INCOIS which is monitoring all three oceans and issuing alerts about impending cyclones, tidal waves and tsunamis. The institution routinely holds mock drills to check the preparedness of the States along the East and West Coasts to face natural disasters.

The INCOIS also acts as the regional warning centre for all countries that lie along the Indian Ocean Rim as well as the Arabian Sea. It offers free services to Pakistan, West Asian Nations and African countries as a humanitarian gesture. But it has to be mentioned with disappointment that Tamil Nadu pays scant regard to the alerts issued by this internationally reputed institution.

The Dravidian party that rules Tamil Nadu always ignores warnings from INCOIS as Stalin and his sidekicks are busy demolishing Sanatan Sharma. Since 2006, cyclones and flash floods have become a regular event in the annual calendar of the State. The State Government has not learnt even a single lesson from the disasters which are ravaging Tamil Nadu. It is found that the DMK spends a lot of time safeguarding secularism and pluralism but the same care should be shown in preventing the State from natural disasters.

The flash floods and the resultant mishaps including loss of human lives are the fallout of the failure of local bodies to fortify the metropolis from floodwaters caused by the overflowing or release of surplus water from the six reservoirs that feed the city of Chennai. The Israeli technologists who visited the metropolis were aghast to see the profligacy of the State’s politicians and bureaucrats and the failure to harvest the rainwater. Nearly 90 per cent of the rainwater received by the State is wasted in the Bay of Bengal. The DMK and Stalin could have made the Centre interlink the major rivers in south India so that Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Puthussery and Telangana could get an uninterrupted supply of water.

The rainwater and stormwater drainages in Chennai and other major cities in the State have not yet been cleaned. The clogging in canals that act as carriers of surplus water is the main cause of floods and water logging. These issues could be resolved by locally available technology. Dr Sundara Rama Prabhu, head of the Department of Physics, IIT-Madras developed a nanotechnology-based sed solution to resolve this issue. Prabhu had claimed that the stormwater and drainage water being carried through Kooum, the most polluted river in the country and meandering through Chennai could be recycled and reused at a cost of Rs 100 crore. However, the state administration is not impressed with the cost of the project as those in corridors of power would not consider any innovations that are less than Rs 2000 crore!

Once the fury of North East Monsoon is over, it is time for Kaveri politics. Tamil Nadu insists that Karnataka should release Kaveri water as per the decisions of the Supreme Court and the Kaveri Water Dispute Tribunal. But for that to happen, Karnataka should get copious rainfall in its catchment areas. If the South West Monsoon fails (which is certain to happen) Tamil Nadu will start fretting and fuming for more water from Karnataka. Other than asking for Central assistance and water from Karnataka, has the Tamil Nadu Government done anything to address these “burning” issues?

The DMK has wielded power at the Centre during 1996-1998, 1999-2003 and 2004 – 2013. The general public should have a right to know what the DMK has done for the State during these periods. It is fine if the leaders in Chennai succeed in their efforts to amass wealth but they should show some kind of compassion to the people who voted them to power. Demolish Sanatana Dharma but reduce the burden of the poor. Hundreds of people in Chennai suburbs and neighbouring districts have lost their houses and belongings in Cyclone Michaung’s fury.

(The writer is a special correspondent with the Pioneer, views are personal)