PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE | Dehradun
The leader of opposition (LoP) in the Vidhan Sabha, Yashpal Arya has stressed on the need for a long term, scientific and concrete plan to deal with natural and manmade disasters in Uttarakhand.
Expressing grief at the damage caused to life and property in Dharali, Arya said that the teams of administration and disaster response forces should soon complete the relief and rescue operation.
He said that Uttarakhand has an old relationship with the natural disasters such as flood, landslide, forest fires, cloud burst and earthquakes but now with so-called development these incidents are taking the shape of manmade disasters.
Arya said that many mountainous villages of Uttarakhand are getting affected by disasters at regular intervals but the government has failed in implementing rehabilitation plans and developing a reliable and robust disaster warning mechanism. He said that due to lack of resources, absence of a proper mechanism and absence of immediate effective decisions, the disaster response has failed.
“The spurt in the natural disasters in Uttarakhand are not merely environmental incidents but they pose serious questions on our development model and policies. The rampant construction works and unplanned urbanisation by the government is increasing the disaster frequency and intensity manifolds. The fast pace of construction works has blocked all the natural drainages of water which results in water logging and floods. ’’ he said.
