Lately, we’ve noticed some very harsh changes in the climate, which have further increased calamities. This includes flash floods caused due to heavy rainfall in hill stations. Of course, this is a ripple effect and consequence of a lot of actions – but such conditions are definitely concerning. And while we constantly discuss these issues or blame the system or some other factor, it’s also a lot about personal responsibility.
Redditors discussed incidents of recent flash floods, and there are too many opinions.
1. “I am not blaming tourism here. I’m blaming the sheer incompetency of civil engineers in the state. If the roads are not feasible for expansion, then don’t build them. If they are, how incompetent you have to be to build such pathetic roads. As for tourists, the only people who have gotten wealthy are hoteliers and restaurants. The common man has suffered traffic jams and water shortage.”
2. “The road outside my house becomes a nadi every time, even with even minute rains. This time people had to call the trucks to pump out water because it was flooding the area. Yet the local corporation does nothing every monsoon season, all drains are choked. We are living in a hellscape.
– sananyas
3. “The consistent, incessant and mindless commercialization is to be blamed. People with money don’t care about nature. They follow no guidelines, no rules. They think every problem can be solved by throwing money on it. It’s a shame. This climate change is a doom for everyone.”
4. There’s a lot more unplanned development here – including roads, dams, and other infrastructure that was built in the hills without looking at the geological and environmental consequences by the politicians. Increased rate of landslides, floods, sinking towns are a direct consequence of this.
5. “If the towns and cities can handle an X amount of population and houses, why overburden it? It’s not a plain city. This is an ecologically sensitive region. Who the hell in god’s name even approved this plot of land for construction? Are they dumb, corrupt, or both? The mountains have not been cut properly, neither the construction is of quality befitting the environment.”
6. “I remember when I was a child, 20 years ago, it used to rain all monsoon, a lot of times for 3 -5 days straight. And here we are with rain getting scarce and scarce and no municipality is prepared to handle half hour worth of rain, forget about a full day of rain.”
7. “We are used to living like this. The words like jugaad, setting, bargaining etc shows us how we choose to live. Otherwise how could it be that this happens every year but still we all forget soon after monsoon gets over.”
8. “I was returning to my home (Kashmir) and we couldn’t move ahead of Ramban road because a landslide completely destroyed the entire road. I can confidently say that the government can’t really do anything to save the valley, Himachal or any other northern region from the monsoons.”
9. “Roads in my area are becoming potholes and swimming pools. The system and local administrations have promised too much, but aren’t doing anything.”
10. “Stop building big roads, stop the huge influx of tourists in these places, stop the entry of big tourist vehicles. Capitalism is ruining it all.”
11. Bro exactly. I live in Himachal Pradesh, yesterday I was going to Chandigarh for some urgent work regarding University. Like, they’re making roads by cutting mountains without reinforcing them. The mountains are cut exactly perpendicular. What do they even expect to happen?
12. It’s the government too. The government destroyed our Himachal. At least the people of Kinnaur started the “NO MEANS NO” movement to stop construction of stupid dams, useless tunnels and nonsense widening of roads, we never needed that nonsense, it was the greedy government all the time.
A lot to think about.