Indian flood deaths highlight government indifference to recurring social calamity

WSWS : News & Analysis : Asia : India
Indian flood deaths highlight government indifference to recurring social calamity
By Kranti Kumara
18 August 2006

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In what has become a tragic annual ritual during the summer (June-September) monsoons, rains and overflowing rivers have killed at least 400 people and left more than 4 million homeless in the Indian states of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa and Madhya Pradesh over the past two and a half weeks. The lives of as many as 15 million people have been disrupted by the flooding.

Far from being the result of natural causes, there is considerable evidence that the floods are a direct result of the gross mismanagement of dams in Central and Western India. Instead of releasing water in a timely and systematic manner prior to the onset of the monsoons, the authorities have been charged by knowledgeable Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) with letting a large number of dams fill up beyond prudent levels, then releasing massive amounts of water within a short period and without warning, causing massive floods that submerge thousands of villages and towns located downstream.

The floods have destroyed animals, standing crops, irrigation systems, canals and farmland, bringing unimaginable misery to millions of people. The death toll is sure to rise as many more bodies will no doubt be discovered after the floodwaters recede.

Though the army was mobilised by the Indian government to provide aid, the evacuation and rescue effort were haphazard and have done little to relieve the immense social suffering.

Surat, the second largest city in the western state of Gujarat and the “diamond capital” of India, was largely submerged and cut off from the rest of state for several days beginning August 8. After the Tapi River overflowed, hundreds of thousands of the people were trapped on higher ground and rooftops without electricity, water, food or telephone connections.

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