Day 57 – Q 4.What challenges are being faced in Kerala after the devastating floods? How can those be addressed? Suggest.
4. What challenges are being faced in Kerala after the devastating floods? How can those be addressed? Suggest.
केरल में विनाशकारी बाढ़ के बाद किन चुनौतियों का सामना किया जा रहा है? उन्हें कैसे संबोधित किया जा सकता है? सुझाव दें।
Introduction:
Kerala witnessed one of the worst floods in 100 years after south-west monsoon rains lashed the State for more than two weeks. The Indian government had declared it a Level 3 Calamity, or “calamity of a severe nature”.
Body:
Number of challenges faced by Kerala post-floods
- Infrastructure reconstruction: from providing basic facilities like water, power supply to construction of roads, repair works require huge amount of monetary resources, which state lacks. Recovery and reconstruction cost is estimated to be billions of dollars.
- Rehabilitation of people who have lost their homes, means of livelihood is a daunting task.
- Kerala battles mounds of waste piled up on streets. Managing the flood waste is beyond the state’s current capacity as it is not equipped to handle even the waste generated in the normal course of events. Thus, there is a threat to public health.
- Environmental: pollution of sources of water like wells, ponds as e-waste coming in direct contact with drinking water sources, soil erosion, ecology destruction.
- Outbreak of infectious diseases: deadly rat fever has claimed lives of people after floods.
- Economic loss resulting from destruction of crops, tourism sector being hit.
Ways to address challenges:
- Provision for adequate central assistance for reconstruction work.
- Need to mobilise civil society organisations, communities given inadequate state resources in terms of man power and finance.
- Medicinal support by providing supply of essential medicines and spreading awareness on healthy practices.
Conclusion:
Recent years, floods have become chronic problem in India (Chennai, Uttarakhand). So far policy measures have been more reactive than proactive. With climate change, extreme weather events will only rise with time. What is needed is to strengthen resilient planning with measures like relocate people away from hazard zones along the rivers, government to be insurer of last resort for citizens, implementing recommendations of Gadgil and kasturirangan panel and capacity building among communities.
Best answer: Gunther
