New Delhi: Floods in Jammu and Kashmir had grabbed the attention of the entire nation but were soon pushed to the last pages of the newspapers and were then forgotten in the battle of the politics during the Assembly elections
Similar was the case with the floods in Uttarakhand. Entire nation was in a shock till the time the news channels were broadcasting it every minute and newspapers were publishing the heart-wrenching pictures of stranded people caught between the landslides and the villages that were washed away.
These past events will only be remembered when nature strikes again. Most of us fail to realize that these so called events do not happen suddenly. An analysis done by Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) suggests that these events could very well be manifestation of an extreme weather event - induced by a changing climate.
"The Kashmir floods are a grim reminder that climate change is now hitting India harder. In the last 10 years, several extreme rainfall events have rocked the country, and this is the latest calamity in that series," said Chandra Bhushan, CSE deputy director general and the head of its climate change team. In a report published in Down to Earth, a list of such extreme events includes the Mumbai floods of 2005, the Leh cloudburst of 2010 and the Uttarakhand floods of 2013. In each of these disasters, thousands have died and the economic losses incurred have run into thousands of crores of rupees.
Figures released by the Uttarakhand State government claim that more than 5,000 people were presumed dead. Destruction of bridges and roads trapped more than 100,000 pilgrims and tourists in the valley. In Jammu and Kashmir, over 6 lakh people were stranded and about 200 were killed.
The statistics are sad but the sadder part is that the victims are treated as mere statistics - forgotten soon after all the hype ends. The real challenge, however, starts once the affected people are left to manage on their own. Though the nature doesn't discriminate between a man and a woman while creating havoc, it is in the aftermath that the real discrimination starts - away from statistics and the game of breaking news.
In Uttarakhand, after the floods, women and children became vulnerable to the consequences of the disaster as they face particular threats to their safety. This includes an increased risk of gender-based violence. Displacement, stress and trauma are familiar features following a disaster and tend to intensify pre-existing risk factors for domestic abuse.
"My husband who worked at a hotel in Kedarnath went missing after the floods. We lost our livestock and were left with a dilapidated house. The only opportunity that knocked my door was to work as a domestic help in Delhi but one of the NGOs working in my village saved me from surrendering to the situation," said twenty-eight year old Sunita Devi (name changed) of Chandrapuri Village in Rudraprayag District who is now working in a Self-help group called Ghati Swayam Sahayta Samooh.
"Sunita was fortunate enough not to get trapped in the circumstances but the outbreak of the poverty after the disaster has pushed many young girls, boys and women into trafficking.
However, trafficking of young girls is not new thing in hills but post floods this has worsened as people are poorer and more desperate," said Shivam Rohtela, a social activist from Rudraprayag.
The wounds of the 2013 disaster are still fresh as reflected in the tears of fifty-eight year old Kamla Devi who had lost her entire family in the floods. "She had suffered a mental trauma then and it took six months for her to speak. Today, she has come to terms with life but doesn't speak with anyone," said one of the neighbors.
Disasters undoubtedly impact women more than men. As per data collected by UNDP from one hundred and forty disaster affected countries, it was observed that disasters lower women's life expectancy more than men's. Women, boys and girls are 14 times more likely than men to die during a disaster.
In situations where food is scarce, women are often expected to serve men and boys first, resulting in particular post-disaster nutritional risks for women. Women often also have particular needs for healthcare and sanitation, and tend to undertake specific household duties, which can impact on their ability to access humanitarian assistance.
They also have the responsibility of collecting fuel wood, grass and water for the family and livestock. Disaster usually increases the workload on women who have to walk extra mile in hilly terrains to collect them.
In Uttarakhand, women have to now walk three-four kilometers extra in order to collect water and grass. It affects their physical health even more. "We try to reduce the stress by singing songs in our local language while cutting grass," said forty-two year old Asha Devi from Sumari Bhardhar in Jekholi Block of Rudraprayag district. With the heavy loads over their heads and back, they walk with great difficulty on that serpentine trail. "We cannot afford to stop collecting grass for our livestock. If we want milk for our family, we need to feed our cattle good quality grass," said Asha Devi.
These women along with several others hint towards the importance of gender disaster data. The Charkha Development Communication Network feels that there is an urgent need to develop their capacity by involving them in disaster planning and preparedness. There is no point discussing the effects of natural disasters on women and men separately after the damage has been done but to take the right steps at the right time to make sure they suffer minimum loss during these unfortunate incidences.
By:Chetna Verma
(ANI)
