Uttarakhand has been struck with a disaster never seen before - none could have imagined the magnitude of a tragedy of this kind, let alone be fully prepared for it. But, the response of the governments and politicians at such times has been pathetic, ill-timed and frivolous to say the least - ranging from claims of rescuing 15,000 people in a day (I know right wing sympathizers are tirelessly clarifying NaMo never said it...) to people waking up after Spanish vacations to present themselves for photo-ops (Ya Ya, Rahul Baba was celebrating his birthday...na). Congress in a well covered media event sent 126 trucks with relief material to Uttarakhand flagged by none other than Mrs. Gandhi and Rahul Baba without caring where they are headed. They are today lying stranded in Rishikesh with not knowing where to go, not having enough fuel to go with unscrupulous truck drivers planning to sell relief material as it does not have a planned destination.
I fail to understand why cannot we in this country for once have a united political approach to dealing with a crisis of this kind. Why every politician needs to offer to rebuild temples, why everyone either needs to land to do Rambo acts or explain reasons not to visit.
The only hero of this tragic story is the armed forces - every soldier who has selflessly risked his life and dedicated himself to the rescue efforts which are being conducted successfully on a war-scale braving every odd presented to them whether by the fury of mother nature, bureaucracy of the system, or the cheap netas. The state is unfortunate to have a dwarf leader in Vijay Bahugana at such trying times - he seems completely defeatist and escapist in his statements. The country needs leaders such as IAF Chief NAK Browne whose men stood up and braved the crisis in these times - rotors must not stop till the time Operation Rahat is completed.
I salute the spirit of those men who know that they may lose their own lives while trying to save another soul, who know that their names and photos would never shine in the media, who do not have a golden reward waiting at the end of this, who are not going to benefit from the vote bank in the election year - they just know that this is the war our country is fighting and they are soldiers dedicated to the service of this nation.
I am aghast at the focus on sending tons of wood for religiously proper cremation (as approved by so-called sadhus) of dead men. It is high time that we do the cremation quickly and in a hygienic manner to prevent spread of an epidemic - rather than focusing on the proper rituals, etc. I think it is high time that the country gets its priorities right.
The news channels are asking why the elite and the rich in this country not extending a helping hand? I ask why in this country have we not made a mechanism for sourcing, managing and deploying funds and efforts in an efficient manner to deal with such situations. People are reluctant to make donations many a times because they don't know what proportion of this would really reach the needy and what will become a part of the black money sitting in coffers of bureaucrats, netas, so-called NGOs.
The country needs proper accessible roads in such hilly terrains inter-spaced with helipads to deal with such crisis and make rescue ops easier and faster. Apart from this, the country needs to imbibe crisis management whether it be floods or earthquakes in its DNA. Civil administration should be trained and equipped to deal with crisis and each geography needs to prepare itself as per its needs.
Lastly, I wish Uttarakhand is rebuilt quickly and prosperity is restored to its people at the earliest.
I fail to understand why cannot we in this country for once have a united political approach to dealing with a crisis of this kind. Why every politician needs to offer to rebuild temples, why everyone either needs to land to do Rambo acts or explain reasons not to visit.
The only hero of this tragic story is the armed forces - every soldier who has selflessly risked his life and dedicated himself to the rescue efforts which are being conducted successfully on a war-scale braving every odd presented to them whether by the fury of mother nature, bureaucracy of the system, or the cheap netas. The state is unfortunate to have a dwarf leader in Vijay Bahugana at such trying times - he seems completely defeatist and escapist in his statements. The country needs leaders such as IAF Chief NAK Browne whose men stood up and braved the crisis in these times - rotors must not stop till the time Operation Rahat is completed.
I salute the spirit of those men who know that they may lose their own lives while trying to save another soul, who know that their names and photos would never shine in the media, who do not have a golden reward waiting at the end of this, who are not going to benefit from the vote bank in the election year - they just know that this is the war our country is fighting and they are soldiers dedicated to the service of this nation.
I am aghast at the focus on sending tons of wood for religiously proper cremation (as approved by so-called sadhus) of dead men. It is high time that we do the cremation quickly and in a hygienic manner to prevent spread of an epidemic - rather than focusing on the proper rituals, etc. I think it is high time that the country gets its priorities right.
The news channels are asking why the elite and the rich in this country not extending a helping hand? I ask why in this country have we not made a mechanism for sourcing, managing and deploying funds and efforts in an efficient manner to deal with such situations. People are reluctant to make donations many a times because they don't know what proportion of this would really reach the needy and what will become a part of the black money sitting in coffers of bureaucrats, netas, so-called NGOs.
The country needs proper accessible roads in such hilly terrains inter-spaced with helipads to deal with such crisis and make rescue ops easier and faster. Apart from this, the country needs to imbibe crisis management whether it be floods or earthquakes in its DNA. Civil administration should be trained and equipped to deal with crisis and each geography needs to prepare itself as per its needs.
Lastly, I wish Uttarakhand is rebuilt quickly and prosperity is restored to its people at the earliest.
3 comments:
Well written, I have very resonant thoughts myself !! You would be all the more angry if you were to see the people are fighting over whose rescue flight people get into.. :-(.
I just know that anyone i know who reads this article will feel what you have felt ; aptly described by the title .
Neeraj & Deepak - Thanks
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