Blunting impact of the vagaries of weather : The Tribune India

quick links

States

Cities

Opinion

Life

Move Ahead

Classified

Reach Us

The Tribune

Punjabi Tribune

Dainik Tribune

Blunting impact of the vagaries of weather

The Jammu and Kashmir highway was blocked and closed to traffic due to landslides. Unique region-specific planning can help to prevent damage caused due to unseasonal rains

JS Samra

OCCURENCES and intensity of extreme weather events, including unseasonality of rains, fast winds, hailstorms, cloudburst and floods, have increased the vulnerability of environment and society. In 2014, the monsoon arrived late, caused floods in the end in some places and was also in deficit overall. A few months later, unseasonal rainfall in March was in excess of normal by 355 per cent in Central India, 154 per cent in North West, 135 per cent in the Southern peninsula and -56 per cent deficit in East and North-East India.

Damage to crops

In addition to frequent rainfall events, fast-blowing winds and hailstorms damaged the standing crops. The Mathura (Vrindavan) district of UP was worst afflicted by repeated bullets of hailstorms. There are unconfirmed reports of suicides by debt-ridden farmers from different states. Situation of crop losses, other damages and multiple distresses is still very fluid, memorandum from many states and their reconciliation by central teams are awaited and it is difficult to give final figures at this stage. However, damages are widespread over the premium crop of wheat, potatoes, vegetables, fruits and other perennials.

Eligibility norms relaxed

Meanwhile, the Government of India has relaxed compensation eligibility norms from more than 50 per cent to 33 per cent of crop losses and increased compensation rate by 50 per cent i.e. Rs 4,500 to Rs 6,750 per ha in rainfed area, from Rs 9,000 to Rs13,500/ha in irrigated lands and Rs 12,000 to Rs18,000 per ha for perennial crops like fruits etc. Some of the states have also announced additional compensation from their own resources. Earlier, mud flow after midnight cloud burst on August 6, 2010 in the otherwise cold desert of Leh killed 255 persons and damaged 71 towns/villages. In 2013, bursting of clouds and glacial lake in June caused extreme flooding, deluges, infrastructure damages, deaths etc. in Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and South-West Punjab. Maximum number of glacial lakes vulnerable to climate change, bursting and flooding especially downstream are present in the Beas, Sutlej and Chenab basins. Towards the fag end of the otherwise weak 2014 monsoon, the North-west region, especially J&K, received 3,176 per cent and Punjab 534 per cent incessant, excessive rainfall from September 3 to 6, 2014. This caused unprecedented floods and deluge.

Geological conditions

J&K was the worst afflicted due to its peculiar geological and physiological conditions. Shopian district of J&K received 2,953 per cent, Kupwara 1,984 per cent, Kulgam 1,850 per cent, Anantnag 1,687 per cent and Baramulla 1,489 per cent excess rainfall over normal in the week ending September 9, 2014. Kashmir is an enclosed valley and Jhelum river is the only flood water outlet. Cloudbursts breached Jhelum river, damaged communication, other infrastructure and inflicted deaths. About 400 villages were inundated, damaged or destroyed and four lakh people stranded in Kashmir valley.

During the first two weeks of March and again on March 29 to 30, 2015, J&K received heavy rainfall, hails and snowfall due to western disturbances and damaged crops, fruits, vegetables etc. March 2015 became the wettest month of the past 100 years of meteorology. The rise in water level of Jhelum created flood situation and landslides during March 29 to 30, disrupted road communication. The Jammu and Kashmir highway was blocked and closed to traffic due to landslides. Vulnerability of the hilly region is relatively very high due to its fragility and landslides.

The Valley of Kashmir was inundated earlier in 1841 and 1803 also. After that, marshlands have been reduced by 52 per cent and water bodies by 23 per cent in 103 years i.e. during 1911 to 2004 and by cushioning of floods by Dal, Wullar and other lakes were lost. Excessive water saturation of soils caused landslides, led to collapse of all kinds of communications with attendant difficulties in rescue-and-relief operations. The Jammu region was also flooded but recovered soon during September, 2014. Keeping in view the diverse topographical, geological, socio-economic environment and down-stream effects, very innovative, out-of-box and region-specific solutions are called upon to reduce vulnerability.

Vulnerable to climate change

The Jammu and Kashmir Hills are young, seismically active, fragile, diverse, complex and highly vulnerable to climate change. J&K normally experiences about 20 earthquakes in the range of 3.3 to 5.4 on the Richter scale, which further increase fragility and vulnerability to landslides and damages. There are 5,253 glaciers in Jammu and Kashmir, as compared to 2,786 in Himachal Pradesh and their melting due to climate changes contributes to flooding and human distress locally as well as down-stream. In the ancient times, Srinagar city area itself was a lake or a part of wetland network. Wullar, Dal and other lakes used to hold excess storm water and regulate floods. After Wullar lake, Jhelum crosses Pir Panjal range through a deep very narrow gorge (about 2,100 meter deep) with almost vertical or even hanging rocks and is a bottleneck for quick evacuation of excessive flood water due to high intensity rains or cloud/glacier lake bursts and ice melting. This section of the gorge may be surveyed and all possibilities of increasing its discharge internalised.

Robust or resilient construction or re-construction of roads, bridges, railway lines, other civil works and communication infra-structure is very vital for long-lasting inclusive development, providing relief and ensuring security of this border region. This requires coordination and convergence of the departments like Public Works, Border Roads Organisation, NHAI, Railways, geologists, hydrologists and engineers for designing and selecting of most appropriate technologies and construction material.

Stabilisation of slopes, landslides and road/rail side drainage and safe landings of run-off water should be made mandatory. In high-rainfall Mizoram hills, easing and stone pitching of slopes, construction of slope-stabilisation structures, meticulously designed drains towards the hillside and frequent safe landing of the run-off into the valleys have minimised landslides. Similar is true for a toll road from Chandigarh, bypassing Pinjore to Simla. There are many lessons to be learnt by all those who are engaged in road construction or re-construction works in the hills.

Survey of wetlands

Unfortunately, Jammu and Kashmir did not have a river-monitoring and flood fore-warning system specifically provided in the Indo-Pak treaty. The Central Water Commission (CWC), along with some IITs and wetland experts, should carry out detailed survey of wetlands, drainage network, identify bottlenecks and suggest remedial measures for the unique situation of Kashmir. The state should come out with a preparedness plan, required policy, institutions and capacity building.

In the South-West plains of Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan etc. introduction of canal irrigation in this arid region having poor quality ground water led to massive levelling of sand dunes, diversification to cash crops of cotton and water-guzzling paddy, rise in water table almost up to surface (1-2 metre below ground) and excessive accumulation of salts in the upper soil layers with extensive land degradation. Seepage from the Indira Gandhi Canal, Sirhind feeder system and others, inefficient irrigation and obliteration of the natural drainage by land levelling, construction of canal network, roads, railways etc. also accelerated rise in ground-water level and land degradation.

As a result of all that, the soil cannot hold even one storm of high-intensity rains with frequent crop damages and needs efficient surface and sub-surface drainage. Drains discharging water into the Ghaggar seem to have been blocked at the Haryana boundary. Also, the rise in the water level in Sutlej river during flooding locks up discharge of drains into it.

Seepage losses

A sensitive crop like cotton cannot withstand more than three days of submergence. Unseasonal excessive rains, speedy winds and hailstorm during March, 2015 damaged wheat, mustard, vegetables and fruit crops in Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Haryana, Western UP, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra etc. Water-logging further aggravated the losses and damages to crops and infrastructure. It, therefore, requires preventing all kinds of seepage losses from the irrigation network. What is required is promoting of most efficient application of water with drippers, sprinklers, ridge-and-furrow method of irrigation and diversification into resilient livestock, fisheries, agro-forestry and others. Severity of losses, damages, distress, adaptations and protection against risks vary across states, regions and even within districts.

Technology can come to the rescue

The Central Road Research Institute (CRRI), New Delhi, has alternative technologies of unique materials and processes for specifically addressing the high vulnerability of the fragile Himalayan landscape. Discussions with Border Road Organisation, IIT Roorkee technocrats and others revealed that there is a lot of scope of tunnelling technologies for re-aligning to ensure all-weather, safer roads, railways and other communication network. Retrofitting of dangerous buildings, flood zoning, relocation of buildings on river banks, maintaining the drainage system, restoration of wetlands and river training works will be durable solutions. A diverse, dedicated, robust and reliable telecommunications system based on satellite, power backup and submergence proofing would be required. Rigorous concurrent or on-line quality monitoring, evaluation and periodical course corrections during implementation should be a part of the bidding process. Testing of quality of construction material by an independent third agency like that being done in the Pradhan Mantri Sarak Yojana should be mandatory.

Preventive steps

The risk associated with untimely rains, especially when standing crops are matured and grains quality is adversely affected, may be covered if they are insured appropriately. Participatory insurance for a village or cluster of villages, where damage is estimated and claim paid by farmers' organisation can provide relief on an almost real-time basis. Different states have their own manuals for estimation of losses, compensation and relief measures. Most of them are very time-consuming and relief/compensation is delayed. Keeping in view the deep penetration of information technologies based on satellites, GPS, mobiles and other tele-services, a very quick and timely response is feasible to avoid suicides and other distress. Plantation of commercial trees like poplar and eucalyptus can also help to withstand water inundation and provide resilience against unseasonal rains, cloudbursts and flood-associated risks. However, marketing of soft wood is highly volatile and calls upon stabilisation of prices as good as or even better than the most common crops of rice, wheat, vegetables, pulses, fruits etc. More emphasis on processing, value addition and efficient marketing of alternative diversified commodities can be useful. Livestock can migrate or stall feed during calamities and is globally a well-tested adaption to reduce risks. Developing the dairy sector can increase robustness against risks. A quick response in the form of compensatory contingency plans of sowing/planting of alternative short-duration crops, varieties etc. is needed from the service providers and all stakeholders. Solutions to extreme weather events, floods, fast-blowing winds, hailstorms, unseasonal rain and snowfall etc. are highly region or situation-specific. To cope with these, unique planning is called upon. Modern digital tools of surveillance, estimation of losses and communication can provide quick relief and reduce the misery of farmers.

The writer is Chief Executive Officer, National Rainfed Area Authority, New Delhi