After Kerala, parts of Nagaland face harsh rains and severe landslides killing 12 people within a month, and displacing around thousands of people, as reported by NDTV. Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio sought the help of the Central Government on Wednesday. He tweeted “Nagaland needs your help…”
#Nagaland needs your #help. Incessant rain has caused floods & landslides in several parts of the state & have affected many. #Relief #helpinghand #NorthEast @PMOIndia @narendramodi @HMOIndia @rajnathsingh @KirenRijiju @MDoNER_India @DrJitendraSingh pic.twitter.com/OC3fmLYCcB
— Neiphiu Rio (@Neiphiu_Rio) August 29, 2018
Situation in Nagaland
Earlier this month Nagaland pledged to donate Rs. one crore to Kerala flood relief, but due to sorrowful turn of events, the state is now eyeing for help.
For bank/online donation to #KeralaFloodRelief please send to A/C No. 10530527879, IFSC: SBIN0000241, State Bank Of India, Kohima Branch. #Nagaland for #KeralaFloods #KeralaSOS @CMOKerala @vijayanpinarayi @PMOIndia @rammadhavbjp @KirenRijiju @rajnathsingh pic.twitter.com/AiAIBc9yoj
— Neiphiu Rio (@Neiphiu_Rio) August 19, 2018
The state is facing this situation despite there being a deficiency of rainfall in North East this year. The reason for the flood is said to be due to the nature of rainfall which pours at 100mm per hour. The flooding has primarily been caused because of rains in upper reaches of Nagaland leading to water level rising at the Doyang Hydroelectric project in Wokha District. The release of additional water from the dam twice has resulted in flooding in the downstream areas including Golaghat district of Assam, as reported by Hindustan Times
The State has so far faced a loss of Rs. 800 crores. Road connectivity in Nagaland has been badly affected including NH-29, and there is the power failure in the State because of the rising water levels at the Doyang hydroelectric project. “The state of affairs is so sad that the main Dimapur to Kohima national highway is blocked,” said Temjen Toy, Chief Secretary, Nagaland. Johnny Asin, an officer on special duty, said that about 359 locations of roads have been cut-off sending the state into an emergency situation
Support from the Central Government
On Thursday, the Union Home Minister spoke to the Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio about the disastrous situation of Nagaland and conveyed through a tweet that, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams are being rushed to the state to carry out rescue operations. The state has demanded an immediate support of Rs. 219 crores from the Centre.
Spoke to Nagaland Chief Minister Shri @Neiphiu_Rio regarding the situation arising due to floods and landslides in several places of the State. NDRF teams are being rushed to the state by the MHA to carry out rescue and relief operations.
— Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) August 30, 2018
Floods in India
Apart from Kerala, there have been many other states hit by floods in India in 2018, which unfortunately have not got the focus and attention needed. Around 993 people have lost their lives during the monsoon season so far in the country. Other than floods in Kerala, 600 or more people have died due to floods in various states of the country. While Kerala is the worst affected by the natural calamity, Uttar Pradesh lost 204 lives, West Bengal 195, Karnataka 161 and Assam 46 as reported by The Times of India with data as on August 22.
The State Governments are yet to inculcate a compulsory provision in their budget for disaster risk reduction (DRR). A recent report on risk assessment, risk mitigation, disaster relief and disaster management was carried out by the home ministry, and the report has shown an expected result, that the level of resilience to the disaster was shallow and needed “considerable improvement”.
Also Read: Interview: “State Govts Openly Flouting Environmental Laws,” Says Prof Gadgil Who Predicted Kerala Floods
