Cities drowning in rains and floods, no matter how much infrastructure is built by different governments of our country, why is that infrastructure not strong? Whereas in this country, the bridges, buildings and big buildings built during the times of Mughals, Hindu kings and the British are still safe in the same form. In the last 24 hours, 42 people have died in our country due to rain and floods while 52 people are still missing. Of these, 11 deaths have occurred in the country’s capital Delhi, 15 deaths in Uttar Pradesh, 10 deaths in Uttarakhand, 4 deaths in Jaipur and two deaths in Kullu, Himachal Pradesh and 52 people are still missing there. Among these, some people died due to electrocution in the rain, some died by drowning in drains and basements and some died due to the collapse of the roof and wall of their house.
Today, a pothole on a road in Delhi is being discussed in the entire country. Every person in Delhi pays a tax of Rs 80 thousand to the government annually. Every person pays a tax of Rs 2.5 lakh in Gurugram, Rs 2.25 lakh in Mumbai, Rs 1.5 lakh in Bengaluru, Rs 70 thousand in Ahmedabad and Rs 75 thousand in Chennai. The roads, highways, bridges, hospitals, schools and airports that governments build with this tax money fall into disrepair within a few years.
Water filled at main terminal of Jaipur International Airport
The main terminal of Jaipur International Airport was filled with so much water that passengers had to struggle for several hours. It is not just about this airport. At present, there is a flood like situation in almost all the areas of Jaipur and in some areas the situation is such that hundreds of houses have taken water samadhi in the rain water and three people of one family have also died.
These people were living in the basement of a house, where they died due to drowning due to rain water filling it. This is the condition of Jaipur, where every year the government spends Rs 400 crore on infrastructure from public tax money.
Dead bodies of mother and daughter reached Noida after flowing from Delhi
The condition of the country’s capital Delhi is also not very different, where the infrastructure has failed in a few years due to rains and floods. After the rain in Delhi last evening, more than 32 underpasses were flooded, traffic came to a standstill on more than 70 link roads and flood-like conditions were created in many residential areas.
The most surprising thing is that the Institute of Town Planners of India, which plans the development of cities, has not been able to save its own buildings from rain water. The condition of Delhi became such that more water was visible on the streets of Delhi than on the Yamuna River. It is not just about rain and the waterlogging caused by it.
In Ghazipur, Delhi, a woman and her three-year-old daughter were washed away in a drain during the rains and now their bodies have been found 7 kilometers away near Noida. Similarly, in another area of Delhi, a person died after the roof of a house collapsed. Whereas in one area, a student died while going to a coaching center due to electrocution from electrical wires. This situation is happening in the country’s capital Delhi.
Several feet of water in Old Rajendra Nagar
Pictures from Delhi’s Old Rajendra Nagar shocked everyone, where last week three students died due to water logging in the basement of a coaching centre. But yesterday once again this area was flooded with several feet of water and the basements of the coaching centers which were sealed by MCD, were once again filled with rain water. This is the condition of the area where students from all over the country come to prepare for the UPSC exam to become IAS, IPS and IFS officers.
Last week, the coaching institute in which three students died due to water filling in the basement of RAU’S Study Circle, was established in the year 1953, six years after independence, and at that time, Dr. S. Rao had laid the foundation of this coaching institute. Dr. S. Rao wanted to create a sapling of such youth in India, who could change the system of India by going into bureaucracy. For this, at that time he started teaching students in a small room of a hotel in Connaught Place, but by the year 1980, this coaching center turned into a very big shop of education and today it has 3 big outlets across the country. Its annual revenue is Rs 10 crore.
Cyber City becomes ‘Lake City’
Now let’s talk about Gurugram which is called the cyber city of India. But Cyber City has now become ‘Lake City’. In Gurugram, where the people pay a tax of Rs 2.5 lakh annually to the government, everything from luxury vehicles to big bungalows and houses are now submerged in floods. There are more than 24 thousand big and multinational companies in Gurugram and there are many housing societies in Gurugram where there are flats worth Rs 100 crore each.
Recently a new luxury housing project came up there, which had 795 flats and the average price of each flat was Rs 7 crore. Even before construction, all these flats were sold in a record three days. The infrastructure of Gurugram, where people are spending crores of rupees to buy such expensive flats and bungalows, is such that it cannot bear even a short rain. Today three people have died due to electric shock in Gurugram.
52 people missing in Himachal Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand are in the worst condition due to rain and floods. Two people have died due to cloud burst in Kullu and other areas of Himachal Pradesh, while 52 people are still missing and it is feared that these people are also dead. In the last 24 hours, many buildings in Himachal Pradesh have collapsed and drowned in the swollen rivers. This flood has badly affected the entire road network of Himachal Pradesh. In the last one year, about Rs 5 thousand crores were spent on building roads, bridges and dams in Himachal Pradesh. But this infrastructure could not withstand even 24 hours of heavy rain.
When a tunnel or road is constructed in the mountains, two things are given maximum attention. Firstly, the road should be able to withstand all types of weather conditions and secondly, the quality of the infrastructure should be such that it does not have to be repaired again and again. But the rains of the last 24 hours have exposed the infrastructure of Himachal Pradesh.
Kedarnath Yatra had to be stopped in Uttarakhand
In Uttarakhand, two people died due to cloud burst in Tehri Garhwal. Whereas in Kedarnath too, a 30 meter road got submerged in Mandakini river due to cloud burst. This is the same road which was rebuilt in the year 2020 but in just four years this road got washed away due to rain and now due to this the Kedarnath Yatra has been stopped and now 200 devotees are stranded there. Due to this tragedy, the local shopkeepers of Kedarnath have increased the prices of food items and other things by two to three times. Here the common man is busy robbing other common man.
Difference between new and old infrastructure
Now let us tell you what is the difference between our new and old infrastructure? Today, new roads, expressways, buildings, airports and railway stations are being built in our country, but they start dying in just one rain. Water fills inside or the roof starts leaking and this is also the situation when in our country the government spends Rs 10 to 11 lakh crore every year on infrastructure.
Every year Rs 74 thousand crore is spent on new infrastructure in Maharashtra, Rs 11 thousand crore in Delhi, Rs 18.5 thousand crore in Haryana, Rs 5 thousand crore in Himachal Pradesh, Rs 13 thousand crore in Uttarakhand and Rs 1 lakh 47 thousand crore in Uttar Pradesh. Rupees are spent every year on infrastructure. But this infrastructure dies in a single rain and you will be surprised to know that the average age of a concrete road in India should be 25 years but most of such roads die within 4 years.
These buildings have been standing for centuries
This is the infrastructure that has been built in the last few decades and is new infrastructure. But have you ever thought that the old infrastructure in our country remains standing like this amidst winter, summer, rain and storm.
Qutub Minar was built by Qutubuddin Aibak, the ruler of the Slave dynasty in Delhi, in the 13th century. This Qutub Minar has endured thousands of rains, storms and even earthquakes for the last 800 years but it never collapsed and fell down. Similarly, Jagadguru Adi Shankaracharya had built Kedarnath temple about 1200 years ago in the eighth century. There came a time when this temple remained buried under snow for 400 years and there were floods many times. But even after 1200 years, this temple is safe in its original form.
British construction still strong
Similarly, the British had built Howrah Bridge on the Hooghly River in Calcutta in the year 1942 and today even after 82 years, this Howrah Bridge built by the British is completely safe. Similarly, in the year 1920, the British had built a wall along the Arabian Sea to connect Nariman Point with Malabar Hills in Mumbai city along which Marine Drive was constructed and this wall is also completely safe today after 104 years. Whereas the powerful waves of the sea hit this wall every day.
The building in Mumbai where the BMC office is located was constructed by the British in the year 1893. Today the office of BMC is in this building built by the British and this building is still safe even after enduring rains, storms, storms and many earthquakes. But the infrastructure that BMC officials are creating in Mumbai while sitting in this office, does not last even for a few years. Same is the situation of India Gate of Delhi, Red Fort and Taj Mahal of Agra, which are safe even after three centuries.