When it was first flashed on TV screens my immediate reaction was why is the building located so close to the river, or has the swollen river eaten up the buffer zone? Going by the way building rules are violated in our country, especially in tourist and pilgrim centres, I won't be surprised if some 'enterprising' promoter had constructed this building to cash in on rising pilgrim tourism. In connivance with municipal and civic officials he may have bent a few rules in the process.
Later the promoter may have amassed a fortune by touting it as a river front guest house or apartment with 'breathtaking view' of the river and the adjoining mountains.
Many other TV footage about floods too reveal river banks of Bhagirathi and Alaknanda dotted with similar eyesore inducing concrete structures in close proximity of the rivers. All tell-tale sign of rampant unplanned and unbridled construction activity throughout the region.
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With most of the roads washed away the options before rescue workers have badly narrowed down. They can only use helicopters (and that too if the weather and terrain are favourable) to evacuate the stranded and drop food supplies. Unless the army manages to fix up some of the damaged roads, the evacuation will be slow as helicopters cannot accommodate many.
The relief process poses twin challenges. The first one is to rescue the tourists and pilgrims stranded at various places and secondly to rehabilitate the natives whose home and hearths have been destroyed.
The first one may be comparatively easy as once the marooned pilgrims are evacuated to safety and sent to their homes, the task is over. As for the second it will take a couple of years. With most structures in the area now 'neck deep' in silt, cleaning up is going to be a painstakingly long task. The massive silt deposit is a disturbing indicator of the amount and the speed with which the soil erosion is happening in the Himalayan region. Many of the structure may be barely usable and may need to be totally rebuilt.
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Flooding caused by Himalayan rivers such as Ganga and Brahmaputra is a routine and annual occurrence and as old as hills. But all these years it used to wreak havoc in the Gangetic plains of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar or Assam (in case of Brahmaputra). Of late the regions located on the Himalayan foothills seem to be bearing the brunt, pointing towards deterioration of ecology in the region.
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The early arrival of monsoon was the main trigger. It came two-weeks ahead of schedule and that too in top gear with a cloudburst over Kedarnath area, which caught pilgrims and district officials unawares. Many pilgrims were in the midst of their Char Dham and Hem Kund yatras. Lack of any proper disaster response system and large scale environmental degradation only made matters worse.
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As potholes and paan stains on walls epitomise Indian cityscape and ethos so does the penchant to indulge in politics at the time of natural calamities. This is a very Indian trait and cuts across party lines. PR knives are out and no opportunity to score brownie points are spared. So its time for announcement of 'competitive' relief (or maybe one-upmanship relief), photo ops and aerial surveys (with hapless taxpayers footing the bill), all of course with an eye on forthcoming 2014 general election.
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The profiteering, hoarding trader, the venal Lala depicted in many yesteryear Hindi films (with Madan Puri or Prem Chopra playing the part), is also very much at work. Their knack to see opportunity in every calamity has not diminished a wee bit. Stranded pilgrims alleged they had to fork out Rs 100 for a packet of biscuit and Rs 500 for a meal. There was also a report of rape of two stranded women in the area.
The latest saga of greed during calamity involves a group of 'holy men' caught with cash and ornaments worth over Rs 1 crore. They had allegedly robbed cash from ATMs in the region and removed jewellery from dead bodies. The proverbial cat was out of bag only when they refused to board the rescue helicopters without their heavy bags!
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The only people who come out shining out of this tragedy are our men in uniform - be it the army, air force or paramilitary forces. It was heartening to see photos and TV visuals of these men herding the injured, children, old and infirm to safety. To many their round-the-clock tireless work came across as the proverbial straw for a drowning person.
Also Read: Bangalore Beat
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