At a gathering in Tudikhel following the May 21 earthquake, I heard people talk about how some astrologers had predicted the quake. Some people predicted in social networking sitesthat another massive earthquake would hit the country soon.Listening to my relatives saying the same thing, I was surprised at the misconception being spread. People were predicting on baseless assumptions.As a strong believerin power and forces that exist around us, I have always been interested in astrology and have been researching it for a long time. In addition, I have also studied astrology in depth, enough to make and readkundalis, read palms and also vastu and some other areas of astrology.
Astrology is vast.It contains various sections like vastu, kundali, palm reading, face reading, and prediction by looking at people's body postures. Once we are born, our kundalis are made according to the place,time, and date of our birth. It is a match of numbers which shows the position of nine planets at the time to birth, which affects the person in certain ways. Amazingly, what's predicted through one's kundali matches with palm lines of that person!
The prediction of earthquake has terrified people,rather than make them careful. However,all of us should be aware that nobody can predict earthquakes or any other natural disaster. So, if you hear people saying, 'Somebody said that the next few hours days or few days or this particular day is dangerous', report such cases to the policeas fear-mongering could drive already panicky people to more psychological trauma.
It's not only Nepal; every country suffers from some natural disaster once a while. And we have seen and heard of the damages even in the most developed countries. Let's think about it. If natural disasters were predictable,then NASA, or any geologistor any astrologer would have predicted the earthquake and there wouldn't have been so much damage. You get the drift.
Middle class and upper middle class people mostly visitastrologers. Because they believe in their prediction, they go to the astrologers for puja path; they wear stones as per the astrologers' suggestions;and now, they believe the prediction of earthquake. This kind of fear-mongering will badly affect the field of astrology. There is a high chance that people will ultimately lose faith in this profession.
This mega-quake has already wrought enough damage on the society. Spreading news of 'upcoming earthquake' of certain magnitude and scaring people is only making it worse. We should realize that this will have a negative psychological impact on people, especially children.
Kathmandu has turned into a concrete jungle in the last decade or so. Unplanned urbanization and lack of disaster preparedness have made the situation even more dreadful. Albeit late, if proper measures are taken now, we can check future damages.
This earthquake has made people realize the importance of a resilient house; as a result they are now thinking about building in open areas. The government needs to rapidly revise the building codes and strictly implement them. We have seen the risks some high rise apartments pose to their occupants as well as to the surroundings. In spite of knowing that Kathmandu's soil is not good for high rise building, government gave them permission.Now is the time to learn from past mistakes and take corrective actions.
One component of revised building codes should be to lowerheight of highrise apartments as well as not permitting new buildings that are not earthquake-resistant. Simultaneously, the government should encourage people to retrofit their houses so as to minimize the risk of future damage.
Again, astrology is an ancient science that takes in account various planetary forces in predicting a person's future. However, it cannot predict natural events. Nepal is in a seismic zone and so is considered at high-risk for earthquakes. Time has come for entire country to focus on retrofitting or rebuilding stronger and earthquake resilient infrastructures—rather than listening to quacks.
rajunepal@rajunepal.com
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