Learning is a life-long process and knowledge equips us to forestall many untoward incidents. However, it seems that Nepalis will once again ignore lessons from the past. Following the April 25 earthquake, media is flooded with gurus preaching disaster risk reduction and emergency preparedness, but they were clearly ill-prepared for the Great Earthquake.
The occurrence, frequency and magnitude of earthquake are unpredictable. But vulnerability is. Even a high school graduate is aware of the friction between Eurasian and Tibetan plates and its implications for Nepal. Seismologists and disaster risk reduction experts have long been warning about mild to devastating tremors in Nepal.Over 8,500 people have been killed, 22,500 injured; 760,000 houses have been destroyed, millions rendered homeless, and 195 Nepali and 80 foreigners gone missing. Powerful aftershocks have also exposed the stark negligence of government authorities and people. None of the past regimes had seriously thought of earthquake hazard.
Earthquake does not kill people. Manmade structures do. Given its vulnerability, Kathmandu Valley suffered relatively less damage to lives and property. However, danger looms for the valley and other parts of the country. Hence we should have long-term vision, new laws and their effective implementation to reduce the risks of such calamities in the future.
Many factors contributed to loss of lives and property. Our inaction is mostly responsible. Had the Disaster Preparedness Authority been formed, election to the local bodies held, and the state restructured on time, there would have been more disaster preparedness and consequently less loss of life and property.
Lawlessness and impunity have become intrinsic part of Nepali society. Impunity is so blatant that even a heinous criminal goes scot-free. Forget corrupt bureaucrats who sell their ethics for money. Had there been rule of law, government officials who allowed multi-storied houses on a tiny piece of land and high-rises on vulnerable places would have been punished.
The bourgeoning practice of condoning wrongdoings is costly. Instead of punishing the corrupt, the majority of the people adore them, creating, perpetuating and aggravating the vicious cycle of corruption. Unless the trend is reversed, people would keep building death traps instead of houses.
There have been cases in Laharepauwa of Rasuwa and Kahule of Nuwakot districts in which children playing on open space ran inside their houses and dropped under their bedstead after they felt the April 25 tremor. As their houses collapsed they died on the spot. This is just the tip of the iceberg. There were also cases in which people standing on open space knelt down to be safe from earthquake. Such half-baked awareness programs took the lives of innocent children.
We have many political parties but few statesmen. In the wake of the quake, we need leaders like Baburam Bhattarai as Prime Minister and Surendra Pandey (CPN-UML) and Purna Bahadur Khadka (NC) as Deputy Prime Ministers with the ministries of Finance, and Home respectively. Bhattarai for his audacity and vision; Pandey for his ideas on zoning and reducing corruption; and Khadka, for his integrity and political maturity. And let them choose their aides.
The state is the ultimate custodian of security of its people. Despite a myriad of recurring disasters, we don't hold anyone to account. Had the concerned departments like roads, housing and physical planning, communications, electricity, and urban development been accountable, losses could have been minimized. So, strict laws are an imperative.
The idea of shifting the capital has been gaining ground thanks to unplanned urbanization, environmental degradation in the bowl-shaped valley, poor connectivity with rest of the country along with the reduced carrying capacity of the increasingly liquefied land. It's already late to shift the capital to places like Chitwan. If not, ministries and their departments can be relocated. Universities, hospitals, hotels, and labor-intensive industries should be developed outside the valley to lower costs and ensure safety of people, property, as well as environmental sustainability.
Disaster looms in the absence of zoning, proper urbanization and penalization of culprits. So long as we allow people to build houses pretty much as they fancy, we remain unsafe. We should amend existing laws and strictly enforce amendments to better regulate individual houses, business complexes, hospitals, hotels, schools and college buildings.
'If planning for a year, sow corn; if planning for a decade, plant trees; if planning for life, train and educate people', goes a Chinese saying. Nepal Army, Nepal Police, Armed Police Force and political cadres must be trained in disaster preparedness, rescue, early recovery and rehabilitation. We should provide education on emergency training and orient youths to humanitarian values.
Our telecom system is vulnerable to strong earthquake. Most telephone towers are on rooftops of multi-storey private houses. So we need to make the system wireless; erect exchanges on open space; lay cable underground; and base transceiver stations on rooftops. We should insulate electricity wires along the roadsides; replace weak pylons; and carry the lines underground. Also, we should develop alternative routes to link settlements; construct sturdy motor roads, and make air transport affordable and operational round the year.
Education is the foundation of social life and important for developing responsible and accountable citizens. We should thus introduce disaster risk, preparedness and emergency response into school curriculum. There should at least be a specialized training centre and a university for disaster management. The education system should focus on producing responsible and competent citizens.
We spent time, energy and money to develop medical doctors, engineers, and lawyers but not responsible citizens. So let's have an education system that produces knowledgeable, responsible, and law-abiding citizens to better prepare for future disasters.
ramsharan.sedhai@gmail.com