Published in Dwarka Express on 10.8.24

‘Landslide’ is over, but mutual mudslinging has begun though the pandora’s box is not yet open fully! Sooner than later, many hidden truths will surface, though the buried bodies may not perhaps be unearthed or traced.  By and large, the blame is on the destruction of environment at Wayanad. It appears that everybody realized the human blunder in allowing construction in the eco sensitive zone. As usual, media, social media, social activists and all have started blaming ‘deforestation’, ‘unmindful construction’, ‘encroachment’, ‘violations of land conversion rules’, ‘ignoring scientific advice’ and so on are quoted as responsible for the recent landslides in Wayanad in south and Himachal Predesh in north. News headlines like ‘Family missing’, ‘village washed away’, ‘bodies are found 50 KMs away’, are the headlines in media. Suddenly scientists like Madhav Gargil are remembered as their predictions have come true.

Wayanad was to happen in any case. The course of the river has been changed by crazy constructions and encroachments. Lot many resorts have come deviating the construction norms. Some of the key mistakes include monoculture plantations, indiscriminate quarrying, allowing red category polluting Industries besides violating the eco sensitive zone norms. The warning that there will be disasters of unprecedented magnitudes were ignored. Madhav Gadgil knew pretty well that his warnings would be overlooked. His words were ignored, and we can say with confidence, ‘THE WARNINGS WILL CONTINUE TO BE IGNORED IN FUTURE ALSO’. There is one repetitive thing in history, i.e., ‘history repeats’. It is unfortunate that the recommendations of the Western Ghats Ecology Expert panel (WGEEP) headed by Madhav Gadgil that 75% of Western Ghats be declared as eco sensitive areas (ESA) was rejected by Government which accepted Kasturi Rangan Committee recommendation for declaring only 37% as ESA.

The Western Ghats is one of the top eight biodiversity hotspots of the world and India feels proud to have it. However, the human greed for materialistic lavishness has clearly shown the disasters in the making. This is not the first time. Cloud burst of Kedarnath and many more man-made disasters have not given any lesson for mankind and it is life as usual. If hockey team wins the Olympic gold medal (wish so!), perhaps, it will be hailed as ‘landslide victory’ or lauded it as ‘unprecedented one’. But all such metaphors can never even visualize what an actual landslide and the pathos the human race faces be. Anyone who really wants to imagine the meaning ‘landslide’ should close their eyes and visualize a WHAT IF situation, bringing their dear and near ones being washed away in the floods or buried live. Perhaps this may be the only sensitization of the magnitude of the loss. But we all have amnesia to the reality.

After some time, everything will be forgotten as nightmares and it will be life as usual. Affected families will remain helpless and for them also, after sometime, they need to come back to routine for their livelihood. Again, the decision makers will ignore the scientific cautions and go for dam, tunnel roads, mines and resorts in identified eco sensitive zones. The Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) rules will be relaxed to give Environmental Clearance (EC) for infra projects to enable the contractors to fill their coffers for three generations. It is generally said that the poor is the worst affected due to environmental tragedies, though Wayanad floods engulfed resorts and homes that are posh too. The game is over here but in reality, no one is the winner!! Environmental losses are irreparable. Time is running out! We should mend our ways by collective wisdom. Will it happen?            (Image Courtesy: Representative pic from Net)