A cloudburst on Monday morning triggered heavy rainfall in the Itanagar Capital Region (ICR). The rainfall left a trail of devastation with one life lost and properties worth crores damaged. The scene of a car floating in the water due to a flash flood shocked the denizens. As usual, the flooding and mudslide that caused devastation looked like human-made ones. In several areas, the locals alleged that because of the illegal earth cutting the streams and rivers got blocked which caused flooding.
Whenever a disaster hits the state capital most of the time the reason is cited as manmade which is true to a certain extent. The rampant illegal earth cutting is the biggest cause of the disaster in the ICR. Despite several notices and circulars issued by the ICR administration banning illegal earth cutting, the citizens continue to defy. The reckless earth cutting is continuing unabatedly across the ICR. Due to the impact of global warming, the weather in the state is increasingly becoming erratic. The erratic weather along with the rampant earth cutting poses a serious threat to the lives and properties. The capital region especially, faces threats. Day by day the population is growing and more forest areas are being cleared for human settlement. Development should not come at the cost of destruction of the environment. There is a need for balance.