By Our Staff Reporter
Dehradun, 4 Jan: Dehradun-based think tank SDC Foundation has released its third report of SDC for December 2022, in respect of major natural calamities and accidents in Uttarakhand. According to Anoop Nautiyal of SDC Foundation, the UDAS report is documenting major disasters and accidents in Uttarakhand. This report is an attempt to compile the major disasters and accidents in the state at one place. The report is mainly based on news published in credible Hindi and English newspapers and news portals.
According to the Uttarakhand Disaster and Accident Synopsis (UDAS) report, there was no major disaster or accident in the state in the month of December, but concern has been expressed in the report over the subsidence in Joshimath. The report has also noted the news of accident of cricketer Rishabh Pant allegedly due to potholes.
The SDC Report for December 2022 has focussed more on land subsidence in Joshimath. It observes that more than 500 houses of the town are having cracks. People allege that the administration has not taken any action to deal with the situation, due to which they had to hit the streets on 24 December. On this day, around 800 shops in the city also remained closed as a protest.
The reasons for the Joshimath subsidence have also been mentioned in the report. According to the experts, the major cause of the sinking is haphazard construction, seepage of water surface, erosion of topsoil and obstruction of natural flow of water streams due to man-made reasons. The city is geologically sensitive as it is situated on a ridge running east-west. The erosion caused by the river is also responsible for this sinking.
UDAS December report also focuses on the incident of cricketer Rishabh Pant being injured in a car accident. Rishabh Pant’s car had crashed into the divider near Roorkee on the Delhi Dehradun highway on the morning of 30 December. Later the car caught fire. Cricketer Rishabh Pant was said to have dozed off due to which the accident took place. He later attributed the accident to potholes. The report without going into the specifics of Rishabh Pant case observes that poor condition of roads are responsible for many accidents and fatalities in Uttarakhand.
Anoop Nautiyal expressed hope that the UDAS Monthly Report would be helpful for the political leadership, policy makers, officials, researchers, academic institutions, civil society organisations and media persons. Along with this, it also had its utility in drafting policies for the reduction of losses due to accidents and disasters. Nautiyal added that Uttarakhand was very sensitive from the point of view of disasters and on the basis of their studies, scientists had been continuously raising the possibility of landslides and earthquakes here. In such a situation, there was a dire need to strengthen the disaster management system, especially in the mountainous region of Uttarakhand.
Anoop Nautiyal said that Uttarakhand needed to learn from the Odisha Model for disaster management. The Odisha Model had also been praised by the United Nations. Odisha Model offered important lessons on strengthening disaster risk governance, investing in preparedness and scenario planning, and spreading greater understanding of disaster risk. The 1999 cyclone in Odisha killed around 10,000 people and it had never been repeated.
