THE Indian government yesterday reacted angrily to accusations from NGOs that they were doing too little to help the nearly one million people, stranded or made homeless by the horrific Bihar floods. It is unusual for NGOs to go public so quickly in criticizing a government response to natural disaster. Maybe they have become more sensitive since the tragedy that unfolded in the wake of this May’s cyclone catastrophe in Myanmar or maybe the Indian authorities are indeed being overwhelmed.
New Delhi protested with some justice that hardly anyone could have imagined a cataclysm on such a scale. Nevertheless, the fact is that the world’s climate is changing, storms are becoming ever more extreme and dams, such as that which burst in Nepal to cause the Bihar inundation, were often built to withstand less severe rainfall. All governments, not least that in populous India and China, ought now to be aware that when the weather goes wrong, it is likely to go seriously wrong.
Journalists from many nations including India, who unlike international aid organizations, ought to have no axes to grind, attest to the heroic efforts being made by the Indian military to rescue some 350,000 stricken survivors of the floods. They also speak of the rescue and support missions undertaken by ordinary civilians who have come to the affected region to do whatever they can to help. However, the media note that there appears to be virtually no overall coordination for rescue operations and for the sheltering, feeding and medical care of hundreds of thousands of people who have been brought or made their own way to dry land and safety.
Individual army units have operated with admirable military precision and discipline, but as in battle, unless their contribution is part of a wider plan, it must inevitably count for less. Therefore the authorities in Delhi must answer for a lack of even basic disaster planning. That is perhaps why they are so sensitive to outside criticism.
If the government is being shown in a bad light, there are individuals in Bihar who should be hanging their heads in shame. It is reliably reported that people with boats and tractors were charging flood victims large amounts of money to carry them to safety. One man reportedly gave away his only ox to a money-grubbing rescuer. Such behavior at a time of disaster that calls for common humanity and kindness is little different from looting abandoned homes. When the time comes, these greedy, insensitive people should be identified and made to return what they extorted. And when the time comes to analyze how these floods were handled, the lessons really must be learned. As an emerging economic superpower, India has does itself little credit in this disaster. Maybe one conclusion will be not only to establish proper disaster planning but also a fully maintained and trained disaster-response force which could immediately spearhead rescue efforts, both in India and the wider region. Muddling through is simply not an option for a country with India’s pretensions.
