Opinion Uttarakhand: The state failed at every level
The brave efforts of the Army,the Air Force and the National Disaster Response Force in rescuing the victims
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The brave efforts of the Army,the Air Force and the National Disaster Response Force in rescuing the victims of the Uttarakhand disaster dont hide the fact that the state government itself was both ill-prepared and ill-equipped to handle it.
Much has to do with the mindset of seeking a solution to the states problems on the pattern of Uttar Pradesh,of which Uttarakhand was a part before 2001. Uttarakhand,for example,has not even made an own shrine board for the regulation of the Char Dham Yatra on the patterns of the Vaishno Devi Shrine Board in Jammu and Kashmir. On the contrary,the practice till 1987 of issuing permits to the pilgrims on the Char Dham Yatra is also non-existent now.
The failure to develop a mechanism to regulate pilgrimage to Gangotri,Yamunotri,Kedarnath and Badrinath is directly responsible for the uncertainty now regarding the number of persons missing. Such is the laxity that the Uttarakhand police force that is deployed for extraordinary circumstances continues to be called the Provincial Armed Constabulary,as it was during its Uttar Pradesh days. Far from any training on the lines of the NDRF,the PAC is associated with what was essentially its role in UP: dealing with communal tension.
No proper communication system exists in the hills,with old police wireless sets proving the lifeline when existing networks collapsed. While satellite phones are present at the district level,the chain collapses in tehsils and blocks.
The weather forecast system also badly needs updating,with experts underlining the need to install a doppler system in both Kumaon and Garhwal.
Although the Meteorology Department has made automatic weather stations in the hills,hill districts get information from the state capital,where weather forecast reports reach from Delhi.
With roads disappearing under the force of water,the need is being realised of a Public Works Development Department which had had the foresight to develop alternative routes to villages in the area. Locals will tell you about some of these,which saved many when the waters rushed in.
There is a reason though that the government mindset appears stuck in the plains. Half of the states 70 Assembly seats fall in the plains. The political leadership perhaps doesnt see,or doesnt feel the need to,to visualise the development of Uttarakhand as a Himalayan state.
Sanjay is a special correspondent based in Dehradun
sanjay.singh@expressindia.com
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