Hyderabad: With erratic monsoons, the nation is experiencing heavy rains, cyclones, and floods. The heavy downpours are a cause of worry in states like Bihar and Assam and cities like Mumbai and Hyderabad.
The principal rainy season is during the southwest monsoons from June till September. By the first week of October, the monsoons recede and travel from the Himalayas to Northeast India and from there towards Tamil Nadu, parts of Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and East Karnataka. But the monsoons are spreading from the western and central parts of India towards northern states. Even after the stipulated monsoon interval is over, heavy rains are flooding southern Telangana for the last three weeks.
Climate change is to be blamed for this phenomenon. The entire season’s rainfall is occurring for three or four days. Dams built over river Krishna which had earlier gone dry are brimming with water in a week.
The situation is the same in the western and northern parts of the country. Uttarakhand is witnessing the worst floods since 2013. In major cities, roads and residential areas are inundated.
During the last week of September, Hyderabad witnessed 14cm rainfall in a couple of hours. Flash rains are becoming a norm in the country. Nationwide, there was an average rainfall of 968.3mm during the southwest monsoon. Parts of Konkan, Goa and Madhya Pradesh experienced the highest rainfall in 119 years during this period. In 2019, 10 states including Kerala and Bihar suffered disastrous situations due to unparalleled rains.
It is a bitter truth that the government is negligent about forecasting weather conditions and not taking necessary precautions. The irrigation ministry must be extra cautious during the time of floods.
It is imperative to set up naalas and drainage systems. None of the cities in India have effective water management systems, the reasons being debris piled up in rivers, insufficient naalas, illegal constructions, encroachments of lakes and rivers. There are no water conservation mechanisms.
Reckless dumping of plastic bags and bottles is blocking the sewage systems. Changing the natural form of water bodies in the name of beautification and development is posing several problems. River Musi, on whose bank bus and metro rail depots, government layouts were built is a live example of a dead river.
Engineers have warned that floods in the Musi river may prove disastrous to Hyderabad but the government paid no heed.
The Brahmaputra, which was filled with debris, expanded to a width of 14km from its usual 2km. With the decreasing depth and increasing width, it is a major cause of Northeastern floods.
The 2015 floods in Chennai were a result of failure in sewage system. In 2013, Uttarakhand experienced the worst floods due to avalanche breakdown and blockages in natural river flow. The agriculture sector is heavily impacted due to frequent floods and farmers are facing severe losses. The dairy industry is equally affected.
Lands are losing their fertility. Due to natural disasters, basic amenities, transportation, electricity, and communication are heavily hit. Public health is pushed into a miserable state. There are severe property losses. In areas with higher population density, the impact is pronounced. All these factors are resulting in heavy inflation.
To battle flash floods, an effective mechanism must be put in place. A mapping system with a list of places prone to floods and precautionary measures to be taken must be planned. By decreasing the usage of land in such areas, human resources and property loss can be reduced.
To decrease the impact of floods, people in severe flood-prone areas must be permanently relocated to safer zones. Flood prone areas in cities must be converted to lakes and rivers.
As of now, the Indian Meteorological Department constantly monitors 146 sensitive areas nationwide. The state governments get information about the rate of flow into reservoirs and other parameters from various departments.
In many states, there is no proper mechanism to monitor the inflow and outflow in reservoirs. With the right coordination between the Center and the states, the aftermath of floods can be minimized.
If the meteorological department, ministry of Jal Shakti and state governments work proactively and implement the right measures, people and property can be saved from natural disasters.
