DEVASTATION: Due to torrential rains and flooding in the last week several regions of the Konkan belt have been affected and this includes Goa, along with Raigad and Chiplun.

By Arvind Pinto

After ten days of non-stop rain the worst affected parts in Maharashtra by floods are in Raigad, famous for the fort of Shivaji, and also Chiplun.

THE green and fertile strip of land running down the Western coast of the country could be termed as nature’s wonderland with its perennial gushing rivulets and scenic beaches, but they can also become a hellhole during devastating monsoon rains. And this is what happened last week. For the Konkan rains are not light and gentle as in inland India, for literally once the heavens open water comes pouring down in heavy torrents, inundating both villages and towns of the picturesque green narrow valleys which lie between the Western ghats and the Arabian sea.
For the rivers of this area are Jagbudi, Vashishti, Kodavali, Shastri, Bav and heavy with rainfall they turn into raging rivers rushing down to the sea. These rivers invariably overspill their embankments to inundate villages and towns wreaking destruction and death in their wake.
The tragedy began on July 21 with heavy rain falling along the entire coast and this included coastal Mumbai, the Konkan belt in south Maharashtra and Karnataka. As per last count on the July 28, 2021 the total loss of life added up to 209 persons in Maharashtra and the Konkan belt. More than 3,75,178 people had to be evacuated to safety as entire villages were washed away in Taliye area in Raigad district, where a massive landslide buried 30 houses in its wake.
Mahad in Raigad was also under water, as was Chiplun in Ratnagiri district where rising waters forced inhabitants to climb to their roof-tops to see if they could save themselves. Landslides in Posare in Ratnagiri also killed five and another 12 persons are missing. Further south-east in Satara, 379 villages were affected and 1,324 families displaced. Eighteen persons lost their lives in Satara and 24 persons were missing, with landslides taking place in two locations in the district.

dangerous LANDSLIDES

In another landslide in Mirgaon in the same district 10 persons are missing, while a landslide in Ambeghar resulted in six persons dead and eight not still not traceable. In Goa it is said that this year the worst floods in 40 years have taken place. In Pernem taluka in North Goa, the river Chapora rose over the danger mark and entered low lying areas to devastate 88 homes.
The talukas of Sattari, Bicholim, Ponda, Dharbandora, all of Bardez and Pernem in the north, were the worst hit and loss of property in several crore has yet to be estimated, in terms of pucca homes, agricultural land, trees and livestock which suffered along with human beings.

REMEMBER PAST FLOODS?

CAN there be a solution to the problem of flooding in the Konkan and its surrounding regions? Many of us may remember the July 26, 2005 deluge which took place in the city of Mumbai; that was a day of death to for many caught in rising waters which engulfed the city and its suburbs. July 2005 was also a month of monsoon deluges for the Konkan where most rivers were in spate with water levels rising above the danger mark.
Several years ago a study on the floods of the Konkan region was conducted by Prayas, a non-governmental organization working in this region. The study noted that the Konkan region is a narrow strip of land with a width of barely 50 to 60 km and a length of 720 km running through Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka and Kerala. This stretch is bound by the Sahyadri range on the east and the Arabian sea on the west.
The Western Ghats and their hills and highlands act as a barrier for low monsoon rain filled clouds. This causes the region to receive heavy rainfall of 2,000 to 5,000 millimeters. This water runs down from the highlands in torrential streams, flowing into the Arabian Sea. During the monsoon season these rivers turn into watery death traps as they flood the surrounding villages and towns and their farmlands that have come up to close to the river banks.
This is what happened last week when the river Vashishti flooded the towns it drained. The misery of the town residents is untold. The greater tragedy perhaps is the landslides the rainfall triggered on hills denuded of their forest covering. Torrential rain combined with the landslides caused death and destruction everywhere.
Studies have shown again and again that massive deforestation, mining, extensive expansion of roadways and railways have upset the terrain’s environmental and ecological balance and made large areas prone to landslide. While development of the region is necessary, the extensive deforestation has increased the propensity of landslides during the monsoons.
While the economic loss to the region has still not been calculated this monsoon, there are reports of widespread damage to standing crops and livestock, with several houses wrecked. The floods have also damaged agricultural equipment and vehicles as also several houses and shops which were inundated with rain entering in everywhere including commercial establishments.
IN the wake of the flooding many politicians are visiting the affected areas to take stock of the damage caused to their people – all promise financial aid and help to rebuild lives and economy. Over the decades the Konkan has grown from a sleepy and backward region to a bustling developing region, thanks to the good infrastructure of roads and railways.
The towns are now bustling centres of tourism as also extensive agriculture thanks to the good water supply. However, one monsoon backlash and the region has been put back for a decade perhaps. While development brings economic improvement in the lives of the people, it also disturbs the fine ecological balance which soon enough brings in the destruction and untold misery to people and politicians who do not link the dots between ways of living, exploitation of the environment and the kind of terrain they are dealing with in disharmony or harmony!
Who pays the price of all the sins of omission and commission and corruption in a conspiracy of silence, refusing to take a call on what kind of development is correct and what kind wrong and disastrous in the big long term picture of the future?