This is apropos a Business Recorder editorial "Managing spring rains" carried by the newspaper yesterday. I'm thankful to the newspaper for forcefully highlighting a very important issue.
According to some estimates, Pakistan is likely to be adversely affected more severely than many other countries in the years to come. Although country itself is not responsible for this, it doesn't have any plausible reason to show complacency towards carrying out long-term planning to counteract the vagaries of hostile nature. In the north of the country, the global warming is already triggering avalanches and melting glaciers that not only cause flooding in downstream areas but also deliver deadly blows to life and property in the adjoining areas. It would be in fitness of things that concerned agencies that deal with rehabilitation of calamity-hit populations should cater for their alternative means of residence and livelihood. And as for the fury of hill torrents, which mostly hit Baluchistan and southern districts of KP, the residents should be forewarned against rush of water and over the time their channels should be deepened embanked to avert their spillover. How to save lives against roof-collapses and tumbling walls, which caused almost all 30-plus fatalities in the KP, the government should engage engineers and task them to work out the kind of construction which not only withstands adverse weather conditions but also are within means of average house-owners. It's time to neutralize the adverse effects of spring rains, and that is quite possible given determined rethinking on the part of disaster managers and putting in place a pragmatic remedial mechanism.