A number of people died while there is no trace of several others following last Friday’s flash floods in the vicinity of the Amarnath cave shrine. The IMD has ruled cloudburst to be the cause for the tragedy which is still unfolding in magnitude. Instead it said that an ‘extreme event’, which could not be forecast in advance, led to the tragedy. Speaking at an event, M. Ravichandran, Secretary, Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES), said that events such as these are likely to be frequent as a consequence of global warming.
Such a scenario underlines need to be guarded as well as the importance of planning in advance by taking various events of the past into consideration and need for preparing against events such as one which unfolded last week, wreaking havoc without a minute’s notice.
In 2013 there was death and destruction caused by torrential rains and flash floods in Kedarnath in Uttarakhand makes one shiver with awe and agony just at recalling how natural disaster took a heavy toll of the precious lives of pilgrims.
It is true that in view of the number of devotees and the logistics involved, any amount of preparation can fall short. It is not the case that the authorities overlooked safety measures. One cannot lose sight of the fact that from the last several years, those tasked with making the annual pilgrimage a success have upgraded procedures, refined protocols and put to use various technical aids. It is true that last week’s weather event could not be predicted by the MeT department, there is perhaps a need to increase the number of automated weather stations along the entire yatra stretch and even beyond, depending on more sophisticated tools for accurate assessment of clouds and rainfall.
The safety of everyone from pilgrims to employees besides security personnel must be the first priority concerned and as such it is important to thread with caution. The natural fury calls for the need to ponder whether increased pressure is caused to the environs of the cave shrine. Parameters of global warming need to be factored. In the long run, efforts must be made to improve the scope for pre-emptive action in case of any imminent danger, and there ought to be more quick reaction if nature unleashes its fury.
