Floods: Disaster plans ring out in empty Houses

While parts of the country reel under severe flood and drought, the Upper House didn’t seem too worried. MPs trooped in and out of a ha...

While parts of the country reel under severe flood and drought, the Upper House didn’t seem too worried. MPs trooped in and out of a half-empty House to air their views on subjects ranging from a disaster management plan to the Pareechu crisis in Tibet.

While BJP members pushed for river inter-linking, Congress MP Jairam Ramesh dumped the project as a ‘‘simplistic idea’’. Instead, they should take into account the climate change which is causing these natural disasters. Calling it an international issue, he said that the government needs to start negotiations with Nepal, Bhutan, China and Bangladesh.

His point was endorsed by RSP’s Manoj Bhattacharya who said big dams were to blame for the floods in Gujarat and Maharashtra. BJP MP Savita Sharada, however, argued that the Narmada dam is feeding her parched state.

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The scene was slightly different in the Lok Sabha. Cutting across party lines, MPs sought a review of the plans to tackle natural disasters, including flood and drought, as they have consistently failed over the years, causing distress and loss of hundreds of lives.

Initiating the discussion, Prabodh Panda of the CPI said: ‘‘The situation of floods in Assam and Bihar should be treated as one of national disaster…In West Bengal, there are also fears that the course of Ganga could be changing. If that happens, then Calcutta would itself be endangered.’’

Madhusudan Mistry of the Congress said the flood situation in Gujarat is ‘‘serious’’ and sought ‘‘urgent central assistance’’. ‘‘Despite enough warning, the administration failed to take action,’’ he said. The appeal came as BJP MP Kasiram Rana demanded a special package for Gujarat to cope with the damage to the tune of Rs 3,500 crore.

BJP’s Sushil Modi pulled up ministers from Bihar. ‘‘Almost 25 per cent of the population is affected…There are so many ministers from Bihar…They must do something for the state,’’ he said.