Western Maharashtra is facing extreme flood situation and almost half a million population is directly affected. There is a great deal of anxiety and anger present in the affected region over the hardship these people are undergoing. On the other hand these people have shown remarkable resilience in facing such hardship and loss and have joined hands with each other and government machinery in rescue and the first stage relief operations. Countless people in affected and unaffected areas are working round the clock behind the scene; sometimes even putting their health at risk. There is growing debate on why the problem of such extreme flooding has arisen and which factor is responsible for this.
From illegal constructions and farming near rivers, clogging by plastic waste, excessive rainfall, presence of Alamatti Dam on River Krishna to lack of coordination between governments of Maharashtra and Karnataka are being discussed as some of the main reasons behind these floods. In this brief article, we will go through some of these reasons in order to assess their role in causing the floods.
Among these reasons, the claimed reason of alleged lack of coordination between the governments has a political connotation and hence it is not considered within the scope of present discussion.
On the onset, I would like to say that no single factor alone can lead to the calamity of such scale. It is always a combination of a few or several factors result in such event od such magnitude.
The effect of Alamatti Dam can be ignored in case the level was maintained as per studies carried earlier. Or, to say the least, effect of the presence of Alamatti Dam can be considered less significant though I personally believe otherwise. In my opinion, every resistance to flow on the downstream side potentially increases swelling on the upstream side in the requisite amount. However I do not have quantitative insight and I hereby go with the outcome of hydrological studies reportedly carried out by a joint team of experts in the past. And also unprecedented rainfall in catchment area, which is upstream of flooded region, is another factor which supports the argument of not treating the construction of a dam on the downstream side as a significant reason.
Other major factors for flooding are amount of rainfall, depth and width of riverbed, slope of plains with other geographical aspects.
Now the most important aspect is the population affected by flooding. Wise way to deal with this is to keep population out of the floodline marked by historically highest flood water level. And this is where we are failing time and over again. And when I say population I also mean the use of land within floodline for agriculture as it has potential to raise hydrodynamic resistance to water flow.
Now the most important aspect is the population affected by flooding. Wise way to deal with this is to keep population out of the floodline marked by historically highest flood water level. And this is where we are failing time and over again. And when I say population I also mean the use of land within floodline for agriculture as it has potential to raise hydrodynamic resistance to water flow.
Now let us look specifically at the flooding that has taken place. Here we are talking about six to eight hundred percent excess rainfall within a span of six to eight days. This sounds to be the most significant single reason behind the flooding of such catastrophic scale. This factor is unstoppable for ordinary mortals. At the maximum, a qualitative intimation of very high rainfall can be given to the people living near rivers. However in absence of localised judicial studies, exact area under influence of floods cannot be predicted precisely.
Hence the unprecedented rainfall became the cause for extreme hardship that people in rural area underwent in last two weeks. Most of them were living inside their respective village boundary which was in most cases a couple of kilometers away from river. They had not done anything wrong. Just that the flood water breached the long trusted border between human and the river and they were trapped badly.
It must be borne in our mind that no matter how strong you are, you cannot stand the fury of nature. Only way to save yourself is to stay away; far away! That is why certain rules and regulations in town planning are put in place. This is where the role of construction between 100 year floodline and 25 year floodline (red line and blue line respectively) comes into picture. This construction exposes its inhabitants to deadly flooding. Builders and inhabitants look at this risk of suffering from flood based on their knowledge of probability of occurrence of flood at their property. Often this knowledge is shallow and is based on hearsay and never on facts. But the old guard's ways, i.e. planning for the worst, is overlooked. Worldly wisdom is forgotten. Construction plans in risky and restrictive zones are proposed. They are somehow approved by local authority. This local authority usually is oblivious to the involved risk. The nexus straightaway puts the people residing in buildings in restricted zone into grave danger of facing hardship due to flooding at least once in their life time. This increases the flood affected population.
Going by the recent reports, 20 to 25 percent people affected during the current flood situation in Western Maharashtra lived in the restricted zone. This is certainly alarming. Had such illegal constructions been avoided, the number of flood affected population would have reduced to its three fourth.
In this context, government, at least now, should ensure strict enforcement of rules by local authority. On the other hand, citizens need to be sensitized for not purchasing properties in restricted zones and create backward pressure on the builders so that they realise that their buildings if not legally located in safe zone will not be sold. No builder will overlook this aspect if this awareness of potential customers becomes reality.
Also important is the issue of lack of awareness in population of the potential risks of severe flooding. This was the reason why a large number of people across the affected region when requested by volunteers, local administration and NDRF refused to vacate their houses. The reluctance of these people to move to safer area or relief camps multiplied the hurdles in rescue work. This also delayed rescue efforts. However timely and voluntary evaluation done by a large section of flood affected people, those who have shown reasonabilty and courage of the highest order is commendable. Their patience in getting relief or in getting essential provisions and food made the giant effort by rescue teams and volunteers worth the risk.
There is discussion among general public how such flooding can be altogether avoided by construction a canal network that bypasses excess water from catchment areas away from the populated places. This idea reached many people through interview of widely respected social worker Shri Sambhaji Bhide, popularly known as Guruji, given to a few television channels wherein he appealed the state government to explore such means after due studies. It is to be seen how much traction such suggestions can gain in bureaucratic functioning of governments. But if proven feasible in this region, idea of canal network remains an attractive flood mitigation measure in case of extreme high rainfall like this month.
Now relief operation by government is in full swing. Assessment of loss itself will take some time. Chief Minister of Maharashtra has announced immediate release of financial aid to flood affected people. However the next stage of relief and rehabilitation is going to be an uphill task. I strongly recommend voluntary contribution to CM Relief Fund through its official website. Considering a large number of people from some places in states likes Karnataka, Kerala and Gujarat also are suffering from floods, considering The Prime Minister's Relief Fund for making contribution also is a welcome idea.
In the end, it needs to be emphasized that calamity arising out of such flooding can be faced only with a firm control on building plan approval process, proactive town planning, creation of new settlements at safe places and creating more awareness on how a common man should respond to such calamity. At a time when rainfall pattern is changing, if appropriate steps are not taken now, this region is bound to see such calamities only more often.
