U'khand: Govt as unprepared for monsoon as it was before 2013 floods

Even a year after the catastrophic floods in Uttarakhand claimed 6,000 lives, the state government remains thoroughly unprepared for the impending monsoon, CNN IBN reported.

Despite the sanctioning of Rs 566 crores for the state irrigation department for the construction of flood protection embankments in Srinagar, only Rs six crore had been released by March 2014. To add insult to injury, locals claim that the quality of construction of the delayed project is poor and likely to be washed away if again.

The story is the same in Kedar Ghat as well. Originally, the government had planned to divert the river water away from the town to limit it’s reach in case of a flood. However, the channels which were used to divert the river have broken down, rendering their presence futile.

In Uttarkashi, the lack of TOW-walls to prevent landslides has left the area just as vulnerable as it was during the 2013 floods. The government’s poor response despite the scale of the tragedy has recreated a situation where floods will disconnect Gangotri from the rest of the valley.

The government’s lack of preparedness comes a year after Uttarakhand witnessed apocalyptic floods where over 6000 people died and thousands were left homeless. After the poor response of the state administration led by chief minister Vijay Bahuguna, the government was shown the door. At the time, worst hit was Kedar valley where everything but the temple was almost washed away.