Ranjona Banerji
Rain this week has caused catastrophic damage to the hill states of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. Himachal Pradesh has suffered the most, with over 70 people dead and untold loss of property and infrastructure. While the news media has been full of dramatic images of landslides and rivers breaking their banks – the what, when, where and hows of journalism if you will, the “why” has not quite been examined in similar detail.
Himachal Pradesh’s Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukku has blamed unregulated over-construction. And that’s where it stops. News reports will inform readers that Manali-Chandigarh highway is extremely high risk and has seen the worst landslides. Why you may ask. The report will also tell you that the highway is being expanded to four lanes, and this heavy construction work has added to the damage.
And beyond that, well. Let’s meet a few experts who will tell you how the Himalayas are fragile. They will tell you reports which have been submitted. On the dangers of tunnelling. On the methodology of construction. On how shortcuts are likely to create more damage. These reports however will not be actually seen. Or quoted from. Experts are not to be trusted. What do they know? Like environmentalists and activists, they have no conception of grand visions. Thus, without the details, there are no further questions.
Let us accept that the rainfall has been far beyond the normal this monsoon. And that some damage is inevitable. But this does not mean that one cannot ask questions.
There is only one reason why the media cannot ask questions. And that is the Who.
Once you reach the Who, there is radio silence.
Someone had a grand plan to make massive “all weather e-ways” through the Himalayas. Tourists need quick and easy rides. In Uttarakhand, religious tourists deserve even more. Lock your experts in a box so that no one can ask any difficult questions.
Local authorities shrug their shoulders. When there is heavy rain, there are problems. Landslides. Roads collapse. So maybe we can buy that excuse. For local little cement roads. Or dirt tracks. But the thing is. Little cemented roads and dirt tracks do not really put any pressure on the fragile mountains. It is the massive four-lane highways, the tunnels, the hydro projects which trigger large-scale damage.
The Uttarakhand government has asked for Rs 1200 crore to repair its roadways damaged in this monsoon. It had also asked for Rs 3000 crore for the rehabilitation of the town of Joshimath, which started showing serious subsidence damage, possibly also because of the massive road works. Although experts are not allowed to really say much.
If Uttarakhand does not know what it will receive, and it is a double engine state, then who knows what Himachal can hope for, since it is not a double engine state. Although most of the work that has caused the damage was done when it was a double engine state.
Manipur is also a double engine state and its state of anarchy is now well into its fourth month. The beginning of May to mid-August.
Meanwhile, here are some CAG reports on government misspending. You may be old enough to recall the media frenzy over CAG reports on “presumptive losses” on 2G spectrum auctions. The resultant corruption charges brought down a government. And yet, now, when there are suspicions of corruption by the ruling regime, what do we hear but radio silence?
https://thewire.in/government/cag-report-nhai-toll-collection-railway-bharatmala-udan
https://www.livemint.com/politics/news/ayushman-bharat-scheme-cag-report-exposes-dummy-numbers-aadhar-irregularities-11691998961683.htm
https://www.cnbctv18.com/economy/dwarka-expressway-cag-flags-very-high-cost-for-nhai-project-in-delhi-as-budget-escalates-14-times-17530271.htm
Shhh. Not a word. You didn’t read it here. I haven’t mentioned Who even once, have I?
Ranjona Banerji is a senior journalist and commentator. She writes on MxMIndia on Tuesdays and Fridays. Her views here are personal.