बाढ़ और एक 'निवारक उपाय' जिसकी समीक्षा की आवश्यकता है 1 January 2024

 shutting off electricity supply in an extreme weather event can be life-saving, restoring power without delay can also help in flooding 

बाढ़ के दो महत्वपूर्ण उदाहरण

Cyclone Michuang

1 Cyclone Michuang passed, but every resident of Chennai still experiences the consequences of a slew of decisions taken for them, or on behalf of them, by an army of people.

2 All these choices had consequences. And so these decisions should be accounted for. Some consequences were visible and obvious, while others were hidden and subtle.

लगभग पूर्ण जलाशय से पानी छोड़ना

In the rains in 2015, many believed that the choice to hold off the release of water from a nearly full reservoir — until later events forced an urgent decision to do it without due warning or precautions — was what led to the most tragic outcomes of the flooding then.

Dangers in a home without power

stop electricity supply

1 The choice to stop electricity supply to areas where cyclonic winds can damage power cables and cause live wires to drop into flooded streets appears logical and sensible.

2  But there is another side to this. Homes and neighbourhoods plunged in darkness can be dangerous by themselves.

3 An area-wide power disruption is a significant hazard

In 2021, Tamil Nadu had 13.8 crore people over the age of 60 years. Of Chennai metropolitan area’s estimated 

🌺12 million-plus million population, 

🌺5,00,000 people are above this age, 

🌺and over 50,000 are aged 80 or above. 

🌺Many live alone, or with limited assistance. An area-wide power disruption is a significant hazard.

4  security and safety concerns

🌺of having no electricity in domestic households. 

🌺Accidents and injuries are more likely to happen in the dark. 

🌺. Reptiles and insects could crawl into the house. So could miscreants.

.

5 Shutting off the electric supply in the event of a storm can be life-saving. 

But, restoring supply promptly afterwards is also vital to save lives and safeguard against terrible individual consequences.

The yardstick must be justification

बिजली सप्लाई बंद करने का सही रीजन दीजिए

A bureaucrat or government employee who has been granted executive power to decide to turn off the electricity supply power to a region, neighbourhood, street, or small area/home 

should be able to justify the decision and document the reasons, in real-time, in the event of a review. 

 premature restoration of power to areas 

with damaged cables carries the risks of 

🌺electrocution and infrastructure damage, 

🌺the unjustifiable extension of a power cut also has a real,

 🌺and significant mortality risk for thousands of people in their own homes. However, this is not a reductionist argument.

more public transparency to these complicated decision-making processes

Some people make the disingenuous argument for more public transparency to these complicated decision-making processes. 

But clearly, in view of their specialised (and even confidential) nature, any such review should remain in the realm of specialists and subject-matter experts.

 A complex calculus should not ever be allowed to become a contest of cheap populism.

 The consequences of going that route during the floods in 2015 are still fresh in our memories.

Think of shared responsibility

सभी निर्णय ऊपर से ?

और फिर भी, यह अभिजात्य elite विशिष्टता का मामला भी नहीं है, जहां सभी निर्णय ऊपर से होते हैं।  

एक स्वस्थ लोकतांत्रिक व्यवस्था में, किसी भी व्यक्ति या समूह के पास ऐसे विकल्पों पर निरंकुश, निर्विवाद शक्ति नहीं होनी चाहिए, या उन्हें सनक और कल्पना से कुछ अधिक पर आधारित करने की अनुमति नहीं दी जानी चाहिए।

accountable for their choices

It is time to hold the decision-makers accountable for their choices, especially when their choices impact the lives of millions. An ‘ideal solution’ may never be feasible, but we should strive towards one.

A hierarchy-based approach, with scaled levels of responsibility based on impact area or ‘target population size’, may work. 

The decision-making cell 

should be more granular and definitely faster, quickly developed and implemented to meet rapidly changing circumstances. 

Perhaps more than one person should be involved when it comes to making major decisions. 

In an evolving crisis, periodic review, done every few hours, by an oversight team, might help challenge and reverse questionable choices.

Decision  subject to review

  Regardless of the specifics, the principle at play is that a decision-maker’s rationale and evidence in support of a choice or preference should be subject to review.

 If found indefensible or unsupported, such decisions must be overturned or modified at the earliest. And, responsibility is fixed squarely on the individual(s) who make such sub-optimal moves, even banning them from such decision-making positions in the future.

Source the hindu