The precautionary measures announced by the Government of Manipur in wake of the threat posed by super cyclone Mahasen looks rather cosmetic. Announcing a school holiday as a means of damage control is not going to help in case the cyclone lets its fury on the loose. The good news till the time of writing this editorial is that the speed of the cyclone is decreasing even as it has wreaked some havoc in parts of Bangladesh. But if the elements turn nasty, the shutting down of schools may be a little lacking in terms of disaster readiness. Even before the cyclone set on its present course, various parts of the state and notably areas in Churachandpur and Jiribam had reported damages to property in the wake of the storms last week and earlier. It isn’t sure whether any steps were taken up by the concerned authority in case there is one to ascertain the extent of damages sustained, whether any kind of aid were provided to the people and whether any strategies have been chalked out to prevent natural disasters from creating more damages in the future. While natural disasters are unavoidable, what needs to be realized is that with strategic preparations made to control the damages that they would bring into their wake, a lot of loss to lives and property can be avoided. The tough reality however is that the attitude of the Government so far has been to take steps once disaster strikes. This has been true in terms of floods, earthquakes and fire mishaps.
There is no standard fire safety regulations or specifications for even Government buildings, much less ensuring that private spaces follow fire safety measures. A tour of Government buildings may lead to a few fire extinguishers scattered around with none the wiser on whether they can still be used while there are yet to be fire exits being included as a mandatory part of the infrastructure and buildings that are creeping up across the state. If there are disaster management teams being set up, they seem to be confined to paper and the usual fare of holding basic awareness programs while the real need is for sustained preparatory exercises in the form of mock drills. The sight of buildings getting higher in parts of Imphal and other districts also tell a story of neglect by the concerned departments and civic authority given that the state lies in a high seismic zone and the nature of soil beneath the earth is not really conducive for supporting huge and heavy structures using conventional construction as is used for building residences and small time shopping complexes. While cyclones come with forewarning, building collapses do not come with any warnings as seen in the factory collapse that saw thousands being killed in Bangladesh. That collapse and many others of the same nature happen when safety norms are flouted in the race for higher buildings and utter disregard for public safety.
Even without large scale natural disasters befalling on the state, the incessant rains in the last ten days and more should be telling civic authorities that all is not well when it comes to public safety. The water logging that has become a necessary companion with the rains in the state is another possible obstacle of sorts for over and above the mud and the slush it brings in its wake, water covering the roads which are pot holed means that people riding in vehicles or simply walking by are none the wiser on where they should be treading. Another sore sight in Imphal and many other parts of the state that should get the attention of civic authorities and the electricity department in particular are the numerous cables, pylon wires and high tension wires that crisscross overhead and dangle very low over hundreds of people in market areas and in public spaces. Again, there have been mishaps where people have been electrocuted to death when the electric lines have snapped or fallen down on the unsuspecting public. But till the time, there is no vocal agitation with the public on the streets; nothing much prods the authorities concerned to action mode.
The impact of natural disasters expands in proportion with the amount of readiness and planning that is prevalent in areas where such incidents happen. When a cyclone takes part in a place where structures are built keeping safety guidelines in mind, at the most there can be a power outage. But the same cyclone when it gets loose in a place that is bursting with its gaps can only mean a lot of casualty in terms of life and property. If Mahasen decides to play evil in the state, school children will be safe at least and hopefully their houses will be more solid than some schools in the state. For the rest, it means having to brave the aspect of electric wires possibly falling over or falling down a crater in a water logged part of the road somewhere.