Dealing with landslides

That living near hills is tantamount to courting deaths should be instilled in the people

With four more bodies pulled out of the rubble on Friday the total death toll in Rangamati alone stood at 112, taking the total count of bodies to 153, according to a report in this newspaper yesterday.  Landslides in the CHT region are nothing new. For the last few years the region has been witnessing deaths from this calamity. This has become almost an annual event. Obviously, the hapless people who have no means to build homes elsewhere take shelter in the hills. A question arises, why people are allowed to live on the hills? 
 It is not unusual to predict that with the heavy rain of monsoon the vulnerable hills will cave in resulting in deaths of people. Still then why these people are living in these precarious conditions? The cyclone Mora that lashed  the coastal areas recently was supposed to take a huge toll of lives. Fortunately it did not. Credit goes to the government for taking massive preparations to face the cyclone. Millions of people were evacuated to safer places before the cyclone hit the areas. But in case of the landslides the relevant authorities failed utterly. 
The Fire Service men and the others concerned could not perform to the best of their abilities. Had they been able to do it, so many people would not have perished in the disaster. Since deaths due to the landslides in the CHT have almost become an annual event why do not the authorities concerned take it seriously and act accordingly. There should be special government allocations to face the calamity. Why should the question of evacuation arise if the hilly slopes are not inhabited by people? Why should people woo danger that lurks in the hillside? Over the last few years a culture has grown to allow people to dwell in the hill thus inviting the tragedy repeatedly. May be some are gaining cashing in on the helplessness of the people.  
There is no dearth of uttering of platitudes from the high-ups that matter. But those are futile and do nothing to alleviate the sufferings of the victims. It is high time for the government to take stringent measures so that none dares to live in the vulnerable hills. That living near hills is tantamount to courting deaths should be instilled into the knowledge of the people. The authorities can take alternative measures to rehabilitate the people. Low-cost housing scheme can be taken up for these people. Massive awareness should be generated among the people so that they do not select hillside for dwelling.  Members of the law enforcing agencies have a vital role to play in this regard. What is needed now is massive rehabilitation programme for the victims. 

 

Dealing with landslides

That living near hills is tantamount to courting deaths should be instilled in the people

With four more bodies pulled out of the rubble on Friday the total death toll in Rangamati alone stood at 112, taking the total count of bodies to 153, according to a report in this newspaper yesterday. Landslides in the CHT region are nothing new. For the last few years the region has been witnessing deaths from this calamity. This has become almost an annual event. Obviously, the hapless people who have no means to build homes elsewhere take shelter in the hills. A question arises, why people are allowed to live on the hills? It is not unusual to predict that with the heavy rain of monsoon the vulnerable hills will cave in resulting in deaths of people. Still then why these people are living in these precarious conditions? The cyclone Mora that lashed the coastal areas recently was supposed to take a huge toll of lives. Fortunately it did not. Credit goes to the government for taking massive preparations to face the cyclone. Millions of people were evacuated to safer places before the cyclone hit the areas. But in case of the landslides the relevant authorities failed utterly. The Fire Service men and the others concerned could not perform to the best of their abilities. Had they been able to do it, so many people would not have perished in the disaster. Since deaths due to the landslides in the CHT have almost become an annual event why do not the authorities concerned take it seriously and act accordingly. There should be special government allocations to face the calamity. Why should the question of evacuation arise if the hilly slopes are not inhabited by people? Why should people woo danger that lurks in the hillside? Over the last few years a culture has grown to allow people to dwell in the hill thus inviting the tragedy repeatedly. May be some are gaining cashing in on the helplessness of the people. There is no dearth of uttering of platitudes from the high-ups that matter. But those are futile and do nothing to alleviate the sufferings of the victims. It is high time for the government to take stringent measures so that none dares to live in the vulnerable hills. That living near hills is tantamount to courting deaths should be instilled into the knowledge of the people. The authorities can take alternative measures to rehabilitate the people. Low-cost housing scheme can be taken up for these people. Massive awareness should be generated among the people so that they do not select hillside for dwelling. Members of the law enforcing agencies have a vital role to play in this regard. What is needed now is massive rehabilitation programme for the victims.