Whenever there is a flood-like situation in any part of India, the catchphrase “no lessons learnt” looms large (“Après le déluge,” editorial, Aug. 31). Be it following the Uttarakhand floods in 2013, the Chennai floods in 2015 or the Mumbai floods this year, neither the administration nor the citizens seem to have learnt many lessons. It is well-known that urban floods are caused by a real estate-driven development model, land encroachments, a lack of proper drainage system, poor city planning and lack of political accountability. Japan, despite being one of the most disaster-prone nations in the world, has become a world leader in preparedness because it learns from its previous experiences and acts immediately. India will take a long time to catch up.
Pankaj Sharma,
Chandigarh
Torrential rains in the financial capital of the country have literally thrown the lives of its residents out of gear, once again exposing the callousness, civic apathy and the unpreparedness of the local city administration. Streets getting flooded and drainage systems getting choked during floods have now become a common occurrence in almost all cities of the country, something that citizens have had to learn to live with. However, getting prepared for such eventualities does not yet seem to be part of the government’s agenda. If indeed water is divine and precious, we need an effective mechanism for rainwater management.
Srinivasan Umashankar,
Nagpur
The causes and effects of the Mumbai deluge are apparent. Most of our cities have been developed in an unplanned manner. Further, governments often allow construction activities on river beds. At present, as we discuss the Mumbai floods, the Andhra Pradesh government is developing Amaravati city on Krishna’s river bed. Further, builders undertake ill-advised construction activities in low-lying areas. Drainage systems in cities are outdated and reckless disposal of waste exacerbates the issue. We have multiple authorities for managing water resources and little coordination between them.
Clearly, while developing cities, drainage needs to be among the primary concerns of the planners. There is also a need to improve our flood preparedness through the development of better alert systems.
Vivek Raj,
Muzaffarpur, Bihar
