Disaster Management: India’s Preparedness

Dear Readers,

I have been away, busy with exams and competitions. So it is only fair that I share with you one of the reasons I was busy. In this post I will share with you a speech that won me 2nd place at an inter collegiate elocution competition this week. Hope you like it. And as usual feedback is more than welcome, it is appreciated.
Here goes.

Disaster Management: India’s Preparedness

We are not ignorant of what happened of what happened in Uttarakhand. We all know what a tragedy that was. I, Merwyn D’souza, will shed more light on the probability of such events in the future and how our Nation and the Government is most likely to deal with it.

Let me first say that the crux of my opinions here on in are based on a 3rd July article by the Times Of India Group titled, “Disaster management plans in a mess, govt admits”. This article was an absolute shocker in terms of absolute government negligence with regard to disaster management. It speaks of plans being submitted by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) as far back as 2007 but the Home Ministry gave its usual lame excuses and blamed on a bureaucratic procedure.

But my dear audience, is this the kind of response we want to the horrific scenes we witnessed on TV during the Uttarakhand tragedy?  Is this the kind of attitude we want toward essential relief mechanisms. The issue is political of course but I feel the need to highlight an aspect that is often left unexplored. The social aspect. 

I experienced a tragedy myself in the form of the 2006 Mumbai floods. I was a kid in the 4th standard back then but it has left a last impression in my mind. I witnessed then a side to Mumbaikars that only manifests itself when we are in a spot of trouble. The caring Mumbaikar was on display on 26th July 2006 and I have seen glimpses of this caring side of the city even during the Terror attacks.

The issue at hand is of disaster management. Of how we can mitigate the damage in the aftermath. But before any government mechanism kicks in, it us - The caring neighbours, strangers, newfound Uncle, Aunty, Bhai and Bhen - Who comes to the rescue first. I have seen how ground floor residents in my building were driven to the upper floors of our 3 story building. We ourselves had not plenty in stock. After all nobody expects a floody out of nowhere, do we? But the improvised “Peas Pulav” that the Aunties of our building cooked up that night was a testament to how resilient a Nation we are.
In conclusion, NO WE ARE NOT PREPARED. not in the least for the natural disasters that Mother Nature throws at us. We are not relying on the Government to awake from its slumber being all drunk with its lust for power and money. But we the citizen are prepared to cook up our “Peas Pulavs” as loving fellow humans even though our Government doesn’t care.
Thank you.

So until next time, cheerio!

Yours Truly,