[Assam] Annual floods!

[Ram Sarangapani]

http://www.turkishpress.com/news.asp?id=188179

Like clockwork, the floods are back again with the usual lack of sheer
helplessness & hand-wringing from every quarter. This year it also looks
like the floods have come with a vengence.

This is also the first time, one reads in the papers that affected
people fighting over food (being distributed) - shades of Somalia,
Bangladesh?

And every year, we ask the same questions:
Can the flood problem ever be mitigated?
Will the State officials from the CM all the way to the district level flood
management officials ever take this yearly phenomenon seriously?
Why does the Govt. allow people to inhabit flood-prone areas?
Is there a science to controlling floods?
Why on earth is the flood situation, "political"
What happens to funds allocated to the flood situation every year? Is there
some accountability?

Why are Sonia Gandhi and others visiting the state? Post-mortem?
But one really can't blame this or that govt. There were floods in Sarat
Singha's administration, and much, much before that, and predictably there
will be floods for ever - if the status quo is maintained.

This is a situation, that anyone with half a brain can predict with 100%
certainity.
And yet, no govt., no entity, the public, actually no one is ever prepared.
We are totally oblivious.
It seems very strange, that we seem to be taken by absloute surprise every
year by floods.
If it isn't a surprise, why are we never prepared for the floods?

Why do many of us suddenly get serious about floods every year - but
obviously forget about it later? Possibly in the hopes that it won't happen
this year.

All this is really depressing. I think, I will go back to the hand-wringing,
and re-post this post again in time for next year's floods, and find some
scapegoat or the other to blame for this year's floods! :)

>From the reports - 1400 have died and millions displaced. I am not sure if
we 'collectively' care

--Ram
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