The monsoon had arrived with a vengeance.
Rivers were in spate, and news channels were filled with alarming footage of landslides.
That evening, on the prime-time news, the main story was a high-profile visit by a senior minister to the State Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) in Dehradun.
The visuals were powerful: the minister, surrounded by officials, pointing intently at large screens displaying maps and data, talking seriously on a phone.
The headline read: “GOVERNMENT ON HIGH ALERT: CM MONITORS SITUATION 24/7.”
Santa, watching the screen, felt a surge of reassurance.
“See, Banta!”
“We should not worry.”
“The government is on top of everything!”
“The big boss himself is watching the screens day and night.”
“We are in safe hands.”
Banta let out a short, cynical laugh.
“Safe hands, Santa?”
“Or just good camera angles?”
“What do you mean?”
“He is in the control room!”
“Yes, he is,” Banta agreed.
“And that is a perfect example of governance by photo-op.”
“Tell me something.”
“Does him looking at a screen stop a landslide?”
“The real work of safety happens months and years before the rain starts.”
“It happens when you train a village rescue team, when you reinforce a dangerous slope, when you teach people about safe construction.”
“That is the slow, invisible, thankless work of prevention and mitigation.”
He leaned forward, his voice filled with frustration.
“But our leaders have learned the wrong lesson.”
“They’ve learned that the tangible, immediate visibility of disaster response—the helicopter sorties, the EOC visits, the relief packages—is politically more rewarding than the invisible work of disaster prevention and mitigation.”
“A photo-op during a crisis makes you look like a hero.”
“Funding prevention and mitigation work gets you no headlines.”
He gestured at the TV.
“So we are left with a system that is brilliant at looking busy during a disaster, but has forgotten how to work quietly to stop the disaster from becoming so catastrophic in the first place.”
“The photo-op is for the public.”
“The contracts for rebuilding what was broken are for the powerful.”
“But the common citizen is left with a shallow, impractical advisory and a prayer.”
संता – बंता की इस जुगलबन्दी से आज हमने क्या सीखा:-
ज्ञान / Discovery: वर्तमान समय में प्राधिकारियों का ध्यान समाचार माध्यमों की सुर्खियों में रहने वाले राहत वितरण, घोषणाओं व आपातकालीन परिचालन केन्द्र के भ्रमण / निरीक्षण जैसे आपदा उपरान्त के कार्यो पर ही केन्द्रित होता हैं / In the current system, there is a heavy focus on high-visibility disaster response activities, like visits to Emergency Operations Centres (EOCs).
विज्ञान / Science: प्रभावी आपदा प्रबन्धन के लिये आपदा पूर्व के समय में किये जाने वाले रोकथाम, न्यूनीकरण व पूर्व तैयारी सम्बन्धित कार्यो को यथोचित महत्त्व व प्राथमिकता दी जानी जरूरी हैं। आपदा उपरान्त के कार्यो को अवांछित महत्त्व व प्राथमिकता दिया जाना संस्थागत असफलता का परिचायक हैं / Effective disaster management prioritizes the “pre-disaster” phase of prevention, mitigation, and preparedness. An over-emphasis on the “post-disaster” response phase is a sign of systemic failure.
आत्ममंथन / Reflect: आपदा उपरान्त के सुर्खियों वाले कार्यो को अधिक महत्त्व देने से छद्म सुरक्षा का एहसास हो सकता हैं और वैसे भी आपदा उपरान्त की अवधि में साहसिक कार्य करने से बनी छवि का राजनैतिक लाभ अपेक्षाकृत कहीं अधिक होता हैं / “Governance by photo-op” creates a false sense of security. The political rewards for being seen as a heroic responder are often greater than the rewards for being a diligent, proactive planner.
उत्तरदायित्व / Responsibility: हम में नियोजित व सुदृढ़ कार्यवाही तथा आपदा उपरान्त की ड्रामेबाजी में अन्तर करने की समझ होनी चाहिये। हमें मात्र आपदा उपरान्त की उपस्थिति व बयानबाजी की अपेक्षा राजनेताओ द्वारा आपदा पूर्व किये गये रोकथाम, न्यूनीकरण व पूर्व तैयारी सम्बन्धित कार्यो के प्रति उत्तरदायित्व निर्धारण करना चाहिये / We must learn to distinguish between reactive political theatre and proactive, substantive action. We should hold leaders accountable for the prevention work done between disasters, not just for their visibility during them.
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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