Excessive rains, frequent floods and intense forest fires are all happening simultaneously in different places. Even north India is experiencing very unpredictable weather. Places like Delhi and Haryana are experiencing flood-like situations. The fluctuations are happening faster than the previous most pessimistic estimates. Governments need to have better planning and follow-up measures to minimise human loss. The wayward weather events in India come as a compelling reminder that the country is ill-equipped to tackle many of their effects, such as urban flooding and flash floods. The poor urban infrastructure routinely stands exposed every time there is flooding.
While several states have made some proactive efforts in this regard, the overall direction and focus of the country’s development plans are marked by unregulated construction, even on flood plains. This shows an utter disregard for natural topography and hydro-geomorphology and poor-quality affordable housing.
Even in Arunachal Pradesh the situation is getting worse. The rampant illegal earth cutting and unregulated construction is causing immense threat to the people’s lives. The authorities need to take more measures to safeguard the environment. The monsoon continues to expose the frailties’ but neither authorities nor citizens seem to learn any lessons from it. Climate change should be taken seriously and efforts should be made to address this issue.