September 4, 2013
Saugata Roy speaks on Uttarakhand natural disaster
Sir, I rise to speak on the disaster that took place in Uttarakhand in the month of June. You are a representative of those areas and your speech was anguished today and I felt that the pain of the people is reflected. Maharani of Tehri Garhwal is also here. She represents those people, particularly Chamoli, Uttarkashi and Pithoragarh. All these districts are affected. The main two dhams, Kedarnath and Badrinath were severely affected.
Today we have three things to do. It is almost three months or two-and-ahalf months since the disaster took place. One should really ponder over the causes of the disaster because it was a wake up call. Geologists and everybody knows that Himalayas are a seismically and ecologically sensitive zone and it is based on tectonic plates, which rest on one another. So, earthquakes and landslides can take place at any time.
But what have we done? Experts say that massive deforestation, violation of all construction norms in hydro power projects, of which there are 336 operational hydro power projects in Uttarakhand, and complete absence of disaster management plans led to the massive scale of destruction in the Himalayas. Also, there is human greed where we lived on the course of the rivers where in a State of one crore people, there are 2.5 crore pilgrims. This total thing needs to be looked into and there should be controlled access of people to places of pilgrimage and tourism. Like for Mansarovar, every year the Government regulates the number of pilgrims. There should be also some control on the entry of pilgrims. All of them go with pious wishes but they cannot violate the ecological norms.
The scale of devastation is massive. In a reply to a Parliament Question given on 6th August, it has been stated that the number of human lives lost is 540; number of missing persons is 5474; number of houses damaged 4726; and number of persons rescued to safer places 108000.
Now, the main thing is that two institutions were found lacking. One was the Uttarakhand Government which did not have a disaster management programme in place. The second organization which failed was the NDMA, National Disaster Management Authority, headed by the Prime Minister. It was found that it had no immediate response to the whole problem. Had it not been for our Armed Forces and Para-Military Forces, the disaster would have been total, and I give my salute to the members of the Armed Forces who risked their lives. You know that in an helicopter accident, so many IAF personnel were killed. I pay my tribute to them. The best performance was by the IAF which deployed 45 helicopters and rescued 23775 persons. They are the best. The NDRF, National Disaster Response Force, rescued 9500 people.
ITBP, Indo-Tibetan Border Police, which patrols the Indo-China Border in Maharani’s constituency, rescued 33,000 persons. The Indian Army deployed 8000 personnel and 12 Army helicopters. They evacuated about 12,000 persons. Nehru Institute of Mountaineering, Uttarkashi formed five rescue teams, one of which was headed by Bachendri Pal, the Everester, and they rescued 6,500 persons. If it was not for these specialised organizations, the disaster would have been more massive.
Sir, the other point I want to make is that the Prime Minister, after his aerial survey, sanctioned Rs.1,000 crores for the relief and rehabilitation work. The kith of each dead person was given an amount of Rs.5 lakh. It seems that they have accepted the recommendation that those missing persons, who are registered missing, their families will also get Rs.5 lakh, which is a good thing.
Now a massive reconstruction exercise should be started. But, it does not mean that immediately you allow all the hotels and big houses which were built on the site of Alaknanda and Mandakini, should be allowed. Very carefully, the Uttarakhand Government should now control new construction and a proper attention should be paid on it. I think, Sir, the at national level, a conference should be called with top geologists in the world, who should discuss as to what the way should be to maintain the sensitive zone of Uttarakhand. It is absolutely necessary. It is a national disaster. These are the holiest places for Hindus. Therefore, it is necessary to preserve them as well as the nature and the lives and security of the Uttarakhand people.
Sir, I shall conclude by saying that you asked the hon. Members of Parliament to contribute money from their MPLAD funds for this cause. I can humbly state that I contributed Rs.20 lakh from my MPLAD fund for Uttarakhand reconstruction and Rs.1 lakh to the Prime Minister Relief Fund from my own income. But, only 223 MPs have come forward. Through you, Sir, I appeal to all MPs – there are 800 MPs and odd – that they should contribute at least Rs.10 lakh for relief and rehabilitation work. An amount of Rs.50 lakh by each MP from his MPLAD fund is allowed. They should at least contribute Rs.10 lakhs for this purpose. Only 223 MPs have come forward for this, which I find very little. We should all unite to rehabilitate the Uttarakhand people. And, I hope, Sir, before long under your stewardship, Uttarakhand finds back its normal life. Their cattle – you were mentioning even mules – died because they could not get food. All these people who have lost cattle, who have lost mules, should be rehabilitated and normal life should start again in Uttarakhand. We should learn from the mistakes of the past. Our human greed should not destroy the Himalayas rather a considerate approach towards rebuilding of the Himalayas should be started.
