What if?

 The unfortunate Earthquake in Sikkim on 18th September claimed as of now 87 lives though there is different numbers being quoted by different media but the fact that it is a huge and severe loss to the people there is something which we should not debate.

We have already had people showing their grief on this calamity. Our Bollywood "heroes" & "heroines" have "mourned” the quake as if just mourning is enough. For them, who make 100 crores from one film, a small paltry amount of Rs. 50 lakhs or Rs. 1 Crore each would have expressed their grief more proactively

The loss of life and belongings once again throws open a big question mark? how well prepared are we to face the after effects of such disasters? This issue should not be politicised as loss of life because of a natural calamity is beyond anyone's control, beyond any politics but yet we have to look at a core issue.

Most of the eartquakes have happened mostly in states bordering on the himalayan range whether it is Uttaranchal, Himachal and now Sikkim. we all know that the infrastructure conditions in these states leaves much to be desired. Why did not the state and central government work towards improving it?

Sikkim is a unique case. Ever since its becoming a part of India, on 16th May 1975, the state is connected to rest of India by only one road! (Siliguri -Gangtok Road). The state doesn't even have an airport! here i have to raise ( though i did not want to) a question on the role of congress government. what did they do for the state? anyways lets leave it...

so since there is only one connecting road, naturally the "Operation Trishakti Madad",  the name of the rescue, relief & resurrection carried out by 5500 army personnel & 700 ITBP personnel along with all possible help from BRO, are facing problem in quick dispatch of relief. Added to that the rain and weather also doesn't seem to be too kind on the poor people there. isn't it worrying enough?

my next thought goes in the rehabilitation work for those who have lost their homes, employment. i am sure no one would disagree that our Indian mentality tries to make money from second person's grief. my worry is that even if PM relief fund is meant for such rehab activity, what is the guarantee that poor people are not exploited? that they are getting what they deserve?

Herein, i feel that more than Government, which has too complicated a system overburdened by red tapism, the Indian corporate house have to come forward. they have to see the state, quickly explore the investment options (tourism, beer, handicraft are local potential areas apart from normal set ups) and start business units there and state government has to just clear the formalities FAST. People who have been displaced  need confidence and not assurances. These are the moments when govt. & corporate partnerships have to work very objectively.

Let's stop here but before i do, consider this. Sikkim has only one road linking its capital Gangtok to Nathu La and one landslide-prone road, just five meters wide, joining the state with the rest of India. Sikkim's road density is 28.45 kilometers per 100 square kilometers against the national average of 84 kilometers. Arunachal Pradesh is even worse off, with a road density of just 18.65 kilometers per 100 square kilometers. No trains run to the border-states of Sikkim, Tripura, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh. While Chinese military personnel can drive down to the Sino-Indian border and will be able to take trains too in a few years, Indian soldiers often trek 10-15kms to get there. 

WHAT IF, there was an invasion from China? With such an infrastructure lapse, are we really ready to face them?