It is only obvious that if succour in the shape of shelter and security, food, drinking water and healthcare does not immediately reach the marooned people, it would be difficult for them to survive the onslaught.

We believe that the community at large, needs to be associated with the disaster preparedness and management programme of the government. Great caution has to be taken to ensure that no plan benefits only a small minority and inadvertently increases the woes of the majority. Along with undertaking long-tern plans, immediate hands-on plan has to be taken to minimise the misery of the marooned people with relief materials. Agri-loan is one vital issue that has to be looked into immediately after the floodwaters subside and lands become available for sowing seeds.

It needs to be said at this point that some of the smaller rivers, canals and water-bodies in the country have heavy deposits of silt at the bottom and for this reason water quickly spills over the banks even after a small rain. But, according to experts, timely dredging of these rivers and canals would maintain the desired depth and thus help contain excess water. Construction of unplanned embankments, mostly done with the ulterior motive of benefiting a small group of politically influential people, is another factor that contributes to flooding of adjacent areas during the monsoon season.

We feel, the political leadership that enjoyed power in last fifteen years needs to answer as to why no long-term measures worth the name have been taken to minimise the onslaught of flooding. We can cite numerous stories of how colossal amounts of money and resources have been wasted on worthless projects leaving aside more important ones. It is a pity that the lawmakers from the flood-prone areas never came up with a concrete proposal to make their areas flood free.