The cloudburst in Ramban triggered some most monumentally large landslides, blocking the vital lifeline of the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway, making it all the more imperative for the government to take genuine note of black marketing in essentials such as fuel and food.
Thousands of stranded passengers remained stranded for hours, and this led to hiked price levels for their exploitation, against their very limited options.
While the government definitely puts in place arrangements for this cross travel of theirs, it can also underlie the need for the more robust and resilient infrastructures rather than what are currently available because of the closure of the highway, the persistent disruption of that route in the summers in case of monsoon and extreme weather.
The government should now come up with sustainable solutions, such improvements for drainage, slope protection, and the like; construct alternative access routes to reduce dramatic impacts like this from happening again.
The Jammu-Srinagar Highway being closed, the shocking hike in airline tickets makes quite an impression of being opportunistic profiteering.
Impose penalties on travel agencies so that they do not take the advantage of stranded passengers. The government has done a good job in warning against black marketing; however, very rigorous provisions, as well, must be incorporated pertaining to price control in times of emergency, with real-time monitoring potential because there’s no other way to stop these activities.
There are stories about high fuel prices, even for basic commodities within affected pockets. Officials assure action in no time against hoarding to make supplies of essentials available to customers at fair prices.
As immediate relief, the government should consider opening temporary fair-price shops and emergency-call centres that would receive public complaints.
Disaster management has improved over the years, but we still require bold budgeting for improving meteorological forecasts and enhancing our early warning systems. The government should come up with a transparent, efficient mechanism to regulate fares and prices during tough times.
It is a duty of the government and the people, to ensure that compassion prevails over exploitation during the time of disasters. The Ramban cloudburst should be taken as a ring that goes up for improved infrastructure, enlightened and humane systems that hold accountable to citizenry at the times most needed by them.
