Editorial: NE floods leave a lot to be desired

The northeast India is now caught in a whirlpool of crippling disaster caused by flash floods. The swirling waters from torrential rains are leaving behind a trail of destruction in not just Assam but also in other states like Sikkim, Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, and Manipur. It is heart-rending to watch the horrifying visuals of raging water from swollen rivers wreaking havoc across rural and urban areas. Unable to withstand the fury of nature, the weakened mountain systems are caving in as rocks and soil tumble down onto poorly planned roads, which is one of the main reasons for triggering landslides.

The numbers are staggering. In Assam alone, over 6.5 lakh people in 21 districts have been affected, and a third of them are seeking shelter in over 200 operational relief camps or are at the mercy of an equal number of relief distribution centres. Over 1,500 villages are inundated, and nearly 15,000 hectares of cropland are submerged under floodwaters. Mizoram had the highest number of landslides – 598 were reported in four of its districts. In Manipur, which is yet to fully recover from festering civil unrest, nearly 1.6 lakh people are facing another disaster.

One would expect the state authorities to be battle-ready, as floods are almost a recurring annual occurrence. Despite that, the preventive and mitigation efforts somehow seem to leave a lot to be desired. The Centre, too, is at times found lagging in providing proactive planning and coordination support to the states. Even though the floods began to gain momentum around May 30, it was only on June 3 that the highest echelons of power in Delhi expedited relief and rehabilitation measures.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi did speak to the chief ministers of Assam and Sikkim and the Governor of Manipur, assuring them Centre’s support.

Once the waters recede, the central and state governments need to do some serious introspection and seek answers to some perennial questions. India has the technology and scientists to identify and anticipate conditions that might lead to flash floods in vulnerable states. This should give the administration enough time to take steps to reduce the misery of people and property damage. Yet, the loss of lives and property continues unabated. Secondly, governments need to revisit their development strategies and heed the evidence-based concerns of not only ecologists and hydrologists but also community leaders endowed with traditional wisdom. It is becoming increasingly evident that the skewed development model being pursued is neither sustainable nor in the interests of local people, whose lives continue to be marked by underdevelopment and low incomes.

Two states – Kerala and Odisha - have achieved considerable success in disaster management and mitigation, and their policies and mechanisms need to be replicated in the North East. Kerala, for instance, faces devastating floods and other hazards, and there are five-year plans in place for disaster risk reduction in the short term and innovative prevention and resilience-building measures in the long term. The basic tenets include decentralisation and empowerment of local governments, the creation of anticipatory action hubs, and quick adoption and implementation of advanced science and technology solutions. The North Eastern states too have some of them, but due to historical systemic issues and legacy political and governance inadequacies, they fall short in execution. It can, and therefore should be, fixed post-haste.