Rising death toll amid rain: No lessons yet learnt by govt officials?

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: Karnataka is witnessing heavy pre-monsoon rains claiming as many as 52 lives so far. But if the rising incidents of deaths are any indication then it appears the state has not yet learnt its lesson from the past. The rains have wreaked havoc on the state, inundated many areas, uprooting trees and disrupting public life.

According to the State Disaster Management Authority, more than 1000 people lost their lives during the monsoon from 2018 to 2022. In 2022, the number of deaths was 119. The death toll in 2019 stood at 54 and in 2020 it was 74. Karnataka recorded 67.6 mm of rainfall so far this May, which is 42 per cent excess. Between March 1 and May 23, the state recorded up to 107.6 mm, which is 17 per cent excess.

Citing the recent death of a 22-year-old woman in the underpass in KR Circle due to a flood caused by the rain, experts opined that the state had not learnt anything from the past. Man-made mistakes are continuing to take the lives of people and horticulture, say the experts, adding the razing of slopes, and catchment areas, concretising streams and the absence of storm water drainage are some of the reasons for the floods.

“A lot of unwanted human interventions in the city lead to floods. It was the same case in Chennai when the whole city was submerged in water in the 2016 floods. And there is no active disaster management on the ground,” alleged Naren, (name changed) a climate activist. Experts also say that the lack of steps to evacuate water from the low-lying areas is also the reason for the loss of lives and properties. Nearly three died due to tree falls. There were six deaths last year.

Seven persons died due to house collapse and five by drowning. As many as 155 large animals have been killed amid the heavy rainfall so far against 171 last year. About 19 houses have collapsed so far this year, while last year’s figure was 131. As many as 795 houses have suffered partial damage in the pre-monsoon showers.

Last year, 7,185 houses were partially damaged due to the rains. “The step to shifting vulnerable people from floodprone areas, ensuring sufficient stock and distribution of essential items should have been in place to avoid loss of lives,”Naren said.

The climate activists also bat for timely forecasts, which they say would help the disaster management teams to take the necessary actions in advance. Further, experts also advised the state government to take necessary steps to find a solution to the problem of flooding to avoid further loss of life and property.