The elements are against us, Nature’s fury full

By O J George

Kottayam: Lakhs of people in the state, particularly those in the Malabar region, are in the throes of Nature’s fury. No doubt, the elements are against us.

Broadly, we have been tinkering with the natural processes on Planet Earth. The very trajectory of so-called development is exploitation of Nature, which strikes back with full force.

Eons of years ago, there were continental shifts, movement of tectonic plates; mountains occupied positions previously held by the oceans and the oceans moved up the ranges of Himalayas.

Mind you, there were reports of findings of scales of fish in the ice layers of the Himalayas, meaning these places had linkage with the oceans in the past.No doubt these changes had occurred as the Mighty Being, which is Nature, wanted re-adjustments to ensure its own perpetuation.

So far as we manage things to an optimal level, the elements adjust themselves. But when we go overboard, they recoil rather harshly.Hills elsewhere are being demolished, rocks are quarried away to no end, sand-mining is going on at dangerous levels, forests are not let out to wild animals as man makes forays into its depths.

The very mining away of metals from the surface of earth causes imbalance to the solidity of the planet.What we see in the forms of unusual and often untimely and geographically illogical torrential rains, cyclones, gales, tsunamis are all Nature’s re-adjustments.

Nature is responsible for very many aspects and dimensions; human beings are only part of a whole phenomenon.

Coming to the monsoon fury, now the Malabar area is reeling under the devastations caused by torrential rains, landslides, overflowing rivers, uprooting of trees, razing of houses.Kasaragod, Kannur, Kozhikode, Wayanad, Malappuram, and parts of nearby districts have borne the brunt of the devastation.

Inter-state routes are blocked in the Walayar stretch on the one hand and Munnar reach in Idukki district on the other.Kerala is dependent on Tamil Nadu and Karnataka for vegetables and a few other essential commodities.

Prices have picked up owing to short supply of essential items.Now the priority should be for saving the lives of people from falling houses, landslips, overflowing rivers and streams etc.Relief camps are being run in various places. People have no other go. Afterwards, they have to be properly rehabilitated. Assistance from the Centre is essential.