Kerala has experienced unprecedented rains over the past few days. Communications have been affected, especially, the transportation by the roads which have become messy and at times makes one wonder as to whether there was any road at all, in the first place! Thousands have been rehabilitated in safe shelters as the flood waters have entered their houses, many others have been relocated because their houses have been washed/blown away and quite a few are reported to be missing!
The brunt of the nature's fury has been taken by the areas on the foothills of the western ghats - the district of Idukki and the eastern parts of the Kottayam and Ernakulam districts, to name just a few. Consequent landslides have compounded to the agony of the people. The Army, the Navy and the police have been rendering yeoman service to reduce the suffering of the public.
A couple of doubts crop up in my mind at this juncture:-
(a) how come there was no advance warning about the advent of inclement weather of devastating
proportions? That would have helped the concerned authorities to take timely remedial measures in
mitigating the agony.
(b) we've been thoroughly exposed about the 'progress' that we've achieved thus far. The essential
infrastructure like the roads, the drainage and the waste management system were woefully
inadequate or more appropriately, just not there.
The politicians have already called for 'damage assessment' and assistance from the central government - the same old cycle of reactions are gonna be set in motion, the corrupt politician-bureaucrat-contractor nexus will gobble up a sizeable chunk of the assistance through superficial work without setting right the fundamental maladies.
Tailpiece.
Today was also the 'karkkidavu vavu bali' when the Hindus prayed, with offerings, for their departed relations and loved ones. One of the mass centres that witnessed such activity, every year, was the 'Aluva manappuram', on the banks of the Periyar enroute to the Kochi airport. Incessant rains had played truant, with a swollen Peryar river overflowing its banks and inundating the area, severely restricting the area available for the ceremony.
I'd said this earlier too. I'm amused by the seriousness shown by many of us to participate in such ceremonies for the departed while the very same people showed scant respect or provided little support to those near and dear ones, when they're alive. A simple case of exhibitionism or are they scared of retribution from the 'spirits'?
The brunt of the nature's fury has been taken by the areas on the foothills of the western ghats - the district of Idukki and the eastern parts of the Kottayam and Ernakulam districts, to name just a few. Consequent landslides have compounded to the agony of the people. The Army, the Navy and the police have been rendering yeoman service to reduce the suffering of the public.
A couple of doubts crop up in my mind at this juncture:-
(a) how come there was no advance warning about the advent of inclement weather of devastating
proportions? That would have helped the concerned authorities to take timely remedial measures in
mitigating the agony.
(b) we've been thoroughly exposed about the 'progress' that we've achieved thus far. The essential
infrastructure like the roads, the drainage and the waste management system were woefully
inadequate or more appropriately, just not there.
The politicians have already called for 'damage assessment' and assistance from the central government - the same old cycle of reactions are gonna be set in motion, the corrupt politician-bureaucrat-contractor nexus will gobble up a sizeable chunk of the assistance through superficial work without setting right the fundamental maladies.
Tailpiece.
Today was also the 'karkkidavu vavu bali' when the Hindus prayed, with offerings, for their departed relations and loved ones. One of the mass centres that witnessed such activity, every year, was the 'Aluva manappuram', on the banks of the Periyar enroute to the Kochi airport. Incessant rains had played truant, with a swollen Peryar river overflowing its banks and inundating the area, severely restricting the area available for the ceremony.
I'd said this earlier too. I'm amused by the seriousness shown by many of us to participate in such ceremonies for the departed while the very same people showed scant respect or provided little support to those near and dear ones, when they're alive. A simple case of exhibitionism or are they scared of retribution from the 'spirits'?
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