Santa and Banta are watching a massive crowd of tourists jostling for space on a narrow cliff edge, all trying to get the perfect photo at a spot now famous on social media as “Heaven‘s Ledge Selfie Point.”
“Look at that, Banta!” Santa says with admiration.
“Our little corner of the world is now world-famous!”
“All thanks to this one spot!”
“So many people!”
“It’s great for business!”
Banta watches the scene with deep unease.
He sees people in flimsy slippers climbing over safety railings, the narrow path completely choked, and the crowd pressing against the very edge of the cliff.
“It is indeed a famous spot now, Santa,” Banta replies gravely.
“But I fear it is also a perfectly designed disaster trap.”
“A trap?”
“What are you talking about?”
“It’s beautiful!” Santa exclaims.
“Let’s play a small game, Santa,” Banta says.
“Imagine I am the Badal Raja, and I suddenly decide to burst with all my might in the hills just above us.”
“A flash flood, a wall of water, will come roaring down that gorge below in minutes.”
“Now, you are the Suraksha Adhikari.”
“Your job is to get all these 200 people, all busy with their selfies, off this narrow ledge and back to the main road through that one single, shoulder-wide path.”
“Go!”
Santa looks at the crowd, then at the narrow path, and his face turns pale.
He imagines the panic, the stampede.
“But… but that’s impossible, Banta!”
“It would be chaos!”
“Exactly,” Banta says.
“Now, second scenario.”
“I am the Dharti Mata, and I decide to just hiccup a little – a small earthquake, just a tremor.”
“This cliff edge we are standing on, which might have hidden cracks, could become unstable.”
“Again, as the Suraksha Adhikari, you have to manage the panic and evacuate everyone safely.”
Santa is now visibly sweating.
“They would push each other off the cliff in fear!”
“That is my point, Santa,” Banta says, his voice calm but firm.
“We, and our government, in our excitement to create tourist attractions, are concentrating large numbers of people in geographically hazardous locations without thinking about the what ifs.”
“We are creating immense vulnerability.”
“What is the emergency evacuation plan for this spot?”
“Where are the assembly points?”
“Are there any warning sirens?”
“Is there any crowd management?”
“Or have we just put up a fancy sign and invited disaster to a party?”
He adds, “When a disaster strikes, the first rule is quick and orderly evacuation.”
“But here, we have created a situation where that is impossible.”
“More people in a vulnerable spot does not just mean more business; it means more potential casualties.”
“It means a small natural event can become a major human tragedy.”
Santa looks at the “Selfie Point” no longer with pride, but with dread.
“You’re right, Banta.”
“This isn’t just a beautiful view; it’s a huge responsibility.”
“And it seems we have only focused on the view and completely forgotten the responsibility.”
We need a Safety Point here first, not just a Selfie Point.”
संता – बंता की इस जुगलबन्दी से आज हमने क्या सीखा:-
- गहन आपदा जोखिम आंकलन व आपातकालीन नियोजन के बिना भौगोलिक रुप से संवेदनशील व आपदा प्रवत्त क्षेत्रों में पर्यटन गतिविधियों को प्रोत्साहित करना गैर-जिम्मेदाराना हैं / Creating tourist hotspots in geographically vulnerable areas (cliff edges, river gorges, landslide-prone zones) without proper risk assessment and emergency planning is highly irresponsible.
- स्थान विशेष में अत्यधिक भीड़ होने से आपातकालीन निकासी व प्रतिवादन कार्यो में बाधा उत्पन्न होती हैं जिससे आपदा की स्थिति में मानव क्षति की सम्भावना बढ़ जाती हैं / The concentration of large crowds hinders evacuation and emergency response, dramatically increasing the human cost of any potential disaster.
- आपातकालीन निकासी मार्गो का सटीक चिन्हांकन, भीड़ नियंत्रण उपायों तथा चेतावनी प्रसारण व्यवस्थाओ के क्रियान्वयन सहित आपदा जोखिम प्रबन्धन उपायों को सदैव ही पर्यटन अवसंरचना विकास सम्बंधित नियोजन का अभिन्न अंग होना चाहिये / Disaster risk management, including clear evacuation routes, crowd control measures, and early warning systems, must be an integral part of tourism infrastructure planning.
- व्यावसायिक हितो व पर्यटकों के लिये आकर्षण केन्द्रो के विकास के सापेक्ष हमेशा ही सुरक्षा तथा आपदा पूर्व-तैयारी को प्राथमिकता दी जानी चाहिये / Safety and disaster preparedness must be prioritized over commercial interests and the creation of mere “attractions.”
संता – बंता की यह जुगलबन्दी आपको कैसी लगी, कृपया हमें जरुर बताये
व
इस जुगलबन्दी को बेहतर बनाने के लिये अपने सुझाव अवश्य दें।
हमें हमेशा की तरह आपके सुझावों, प्रतिक्रियाओं व कटाक्षो का बेसब्री से इंतजार रहता हैं और सच मानिये इसी के आधार पर हम अपने आप में, अपनी सोच व रचनात्मकता में सुधार करने को प्रेरित होते हैं।
सो अच्छा – बुरा जैसा आपको महसूस हुवा हो, कमेंट जरुर करते रहें।
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