Sir,
The Cyclone Titli left behind a trail of destruction. Power supply, telecom and data connectivity were badly affected in many areas besides businesses being adversely impacted. While the response from civic and administrative machineries has been better and faster than what was visible, the cyclone and its aftermath raised some fundamental questions about whether we are adequately prepared to deal with such cataclysmic events. Of course, Nature cannot be changed. Cyclones, floods, droughts and earthquakes will occur sometime or the other. What is critical is whether a rapidly-urbanising India, with a third of its population packed into overcrowded and infrastructure-stretched cities, is in a position to deal with the aftermath of a natural or manmade disaster. More serious is the lack of adherence to laws, standards and practices, which has left most of our cities waiting for a disaster to happen. Building standards and safety regulations are observed more in their breach. Public health infrastructure is at a breaking point and usually collapses when faced with a mass event, impacting the poor the most. Civic authorities not only fail to impose standards but are often guilty of violating them themselves. Unless there is a paradigm shift in thinking, the next major disaster could cause cataclysmic damages. We need to change the way we plan, prepare and respond to such events. This change has to be comprehensive, covering planning, training and equipping the concerned authorities adequately to deal with the task. The lessons of Titli should not be forgotten just because the roads have been cleared.
K Ravi, E-237, GGP Colony, Bhubaneswar-751025, Mob: 9437616497