No Blame Game Please!

Kashmir is not new to disasters whether natural or man made. From conflict, snow storms, earth quakes, epidemic infections, fake drugs, active deforestation, unplanned constructions and the floods to name a few. Every time something happens, there is an unprecedented response from all corners of society.  The state government also pretends to be acting and working round the clock. The media is busy in highlighting the suffering of masses. There is severe criticism of respective departments for not being ready, acting appropriately and in timely manner. Self-help groups and charities mushroom all over the place in no time. Most importantly people show resilience, help each other, put their lives at risk for others and the society seems like a one big family in distress. There are exceptions to this with some taking advantage of suffering people by manipulation, stealing, blackmail and what not.

Following the crisis phase, the cohesion dwindles slowly and people get busy with their routine lives. Media tries to keep the issue going for a while. Politicians blame each other for the disaster and its mismanagement.  Some alleged scholars even try to blame the younger generation especially the women for the disaster. The actual victims of the disaster keep crying for help, making rounds of offices, paying bribes and using any political connections to get some relief. But within few months, the whole society goes into a state of slumber. The State asks Centre for a financial package which is rejected without fail. Package for flood victims, hepatitis C and even for upgrading the ailing drainage system of Srinagar city are few examples.

Kashmir is not the only place in the world facing disasters, but for one reason or another, it is a place where after a knee jerk reaction, people stop thinking once the crisis phase is temporarily over. Time and again there are sincere calls in local newspapers by experts about lack of appropriate policy, warnings of impending disasters and calls for preparedness to minimise the loss of life and property. But often all the meaningful voices go unheard. The changing global climate, issues with global warming, changes in seasonal patterns, aggressive deforestation, ever increasing pollution, use of polythene bags just to quote few have been known from long now and our valley is not immune to such changes.

So where lies the problem? Looking at the pattern of any disaster, we are still not able to move on from the blame game phase. Some blame the Almighty for everything; many blame the same government that they voted to power and there are still many that start blaming the central government.  Some invoke the sins and even do not spare their own daughter’s for the alleged wrath of God. Government departments blame each other for unpreparedness, poor response and lack of responsibility.  The weather man tries to reassure people without any evidence, trying to keep his superiors happy. Flood control department hardly seems to have a clue when to declare an emergency. They sound the alarm at midnight, when water has already reached above doorstep and keep reassuring people during the day that there is no need to panic.  The rescue operations get politicised, heroes and villains are made depending on loyalties.  The alleged disaster cell at the divisional commissioner office goes under ground.  The State even gives in writing to the Supreme Court that there is no crisis and we have all the means to deal with any situation.

With increasing population and people migrating, new colonies have erupted left, right and centre. The land mafia has its way of selling any kind of land for any purpose and at any place. It is not difficult to get planning permission for those who buy this land at sky high prices by spending a few more bucks or use political influence.  Any new colony in the city looks charming by the architecture and size of the houses.  But I am not sure the planners, government or the people who settle there, ever think of drainage, roads and other basic amenities. Same is the situation with illegal constructions on the dying Dal Lake. The rivers either big or small stand neglected for decades and by now have enormously shrunk in size and some may cease to exist soon. Constructions have been allowed in places which put common sense to shame. Even government offices and hospitals have been erected at sites where no preventative measure can prevent a catastrophe of flash floods. Active and merciless deforestation is going on by mafia, smugglers with cooperation of forest department and politicians, pushing the whole ecosystem in imbalance and resulting in floods and loss of life.

So who is responsible? The common man or those voted to manage the affairs of state? This is a complex question. But to be realistic, the final blame lays with all of us. We clean our houses but leave the junk in the street.  You can see that first hand even in the most affluent parts of city. We construct houses in summer but ignore the fact that a winter is coming.  People who govern the place do not come from another planet and they are voted to power by very same people whom they don’t care for, once they are in office. The society has a skewed opinion, the more corrupt you are, the more respect you are given. Corruption has become the basic unit of local economy and has been morally, ethically and religiously legitimised.  People with some integrity are classified as dry and rigid. They are made to suffer and are side lined so that they do not hinder the business of the majority.  People come on streets to protest against installation of electric meters but they do not find day to day scandals and corruption as a matter of concern. In short the pathetic state of affairs boils down to corruption, which in turn leads to lack of accountability and the continuation of vicious cycle.

We do not want any responsibility.  We tend to stick our heads in the sand and expect other people to sort our problems. We claim to be obedient servants of God within the places of worship, but ignore the basic teachings when it comes to dealing with interpersonal affairs and fulfilling the responsibility towards the society at large. I wonder if there is any other reason apart from creating jobs for having departments like that of  Flood Control,  LAWDA, Forest or Drug Control to name a few. In fact they do more harm than good by creating a false sense of security.

The most important thing to note is that we repeatedly fail to learn lessons from our past. Civic sense has died a very painful death and we cannot even queue without a man in uniform holding a stick to our head.  Somewhere we have lost the art of introspection. But in no way is it too late to start again. Things can be changed, disasters can be prevented or at least minimised, and lives can be saved only if we start thinking beyond ourselves and our high walls.  The elected representatives need to be accountable and if they fail, they must resign for being morally responsible for the ill happenings.  The state government in turn has to lead its people towards positive direction, curb the corruption culture, find ways to make people accountable and punish those acting with negligence. We need to come up with long term solutions for the ongoing disasters.  If we fail to introspect, wake up and reflect, then it is inevitable to see many more disasters sending the place into further chaos.

http://www.greaterkashmir.com/news/2015/Apr/2/no-blame-game-please--4.asp