It is difficult to come to terms with the terrible tragedy of the Uttarakhand floods. This is so very difficult to accept.
My heart goes out to people who lost their loved ones, mother, father, wife, daughter, son...it is unacceptable that so many people have lost their lives. Some of the scenes from Kedarnath looked almost as if the world was ending! Scary for onlookers who are watching it on the television, what about the people who actually lived through this and lost their loved ones? What about people who lived and made a living in Kedarnath? What will they do now, they are homeless, jobless, and many of them have lost their near and dear ones.
It is in moments such as this that I am reminded about how lucky I am to be alive, healthy, and comfortable. Life is so uncertain.
While I am writing this, there are still so many people who are perhaps stuck somewhere near Kedarnath, without food, water, or any hope for help, and watching others die. I feel so helpless just thinking about their plight. Thank God for the rescue operations that has helped save the life of so many people.
What is even more tragic is the fact that it was a man made disaster. This is unforgivable. The unending construction of houses and hotels is one of the chief causes of this disaster.
So who decides when to stop these constructions? Who is accountable? I am sure there are correct procedures and policies written down somewhere for safety norms, but who ensures that they are being followed?
Greed has overtaken our value systems; we put innocent lives at risk because some people stand to make immense profits from these constructions!
Bob Dylan's song..."Blowin in the wind", has a line where he says
"How many deaths will it take till he knows that too many people have died?"
This line says it all.
I hope we as a nation wake up now, instead of just debating about it, and then eventually forgetting about this tragedy till another incident strikes us!
