Three persons still missing : Why no red alert earlier ?
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: April 30 2019 -
Three persons still missing.
Vast scale damages reported and to be sure the scale of damage may increase after reports from the interior parts of the State are received.
Cyclonic storm, albeit for a short duration lasting 20-30 minutes, but so intense and strong was the gale that reports have come in of roof tops being blown away, electric posts being uprooted and many parts of the State being plunged into total darkness, as it would have been hazardous to supply power line via the over head high tension wire.
Telephone lines also snapped at many places, badly affecting land line connections.
These damages however pale in comparison when one takes into account the fact that even 24 hours after their boat capsized, three persons including a 20 year old girl are yet to be traced.
The boat mishap occurred at Mapithel Dam a huge expanse of water at Chadong village and here lies the tale of a picnic party ending in a somewhat tragic tale.
That is if the missing three persons are found alive 24 hours after their boat capsized in the middle of the said dam.
Another boat too capsized but fortunately the remaining nine were rescued or managed to swim to safety.
Cyclonic storm FANI has certainly taken its toll and while the efforts of the State Government to help locate the missing three persons is taken note of, it is disturbing to note that while the Indian Meteorological Department did issue warnings of a cyclonic storm sweeping the region, no such red alert was issued by the State Government.
This is where the Relief and Disaster Management Department was found napping and here lies apathy written all over.
When nature strikes there is not much that the people can do, except take up preventive measures.
Thanks to the rapid stride in science and state of the art technology it is not impossible to pre-see the likely outcome in the coming days and the science of weather prediction revolves around this basic fact.
Tragic that no red alert was sounded in the State to keep the people on their toes.
Moreover from reports that have come in, it is now clear that there were practically no safety/preventive measures taken up at Mapithel Dam, which is frequented by visitors in droves.
Why were no life jackets provided to the picnickers who went boating at the Dam ?
This is a serious question which the State Government must address to on a priority basis.
And it is not only about Mapithel Dam but at all the other places which draw visitors.
As per the weather forecast, the cyclonic storm may not be a one day or a few minutes affair and may again come back.
This is where the State Government may need to come out with safety/preventive measures that the people may take in the coming few days.
Let the people also get down to the fact that vast deforestation meant that there were no natural barriers to break the speed of the wind.
A lesson that may be drawn from what happened on April 28 .
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