Voting for man-made disasters: 

Voting for man-made disasters: 

Context

The root cause of man-made disasters in August is the conscious errors of omission and commission by the state

Tragic month of this year

• The month of August was a disaster-filled month for India.

• Dozens of infant deaths in a government-run hospital in Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh,
• frenzied rioting after a godman was convicted in the rape of two followers,
• Untold deaths and millions displaced in massive floods in Bihar,
• A night of horrendous commutes in Mumbai following torrential rains,
• The aftermath of significant flooding in the North-East— these marked only the most notable disasters during the month.

Water, waterlogging, and waterborne disease

• What is common to the disasters above is that they are all about water, related disease. 
• And that they are man-made with a collapse in administration and a sharp political failure

The Gorakhpur deaths

• The Gorakhpur deaths that took place early in August were allegedly due to the lack of oxygen supply in the hospital.
• The tragedy exposed the weakness of the entire public health system
• The incident exposed a severe shortage of trained nurses, doctors and an absolutely failed political and administrative system with dysfunctional incentives and accountability.
• Japanese encephalitis overwhelms the region due to rampant mosquito breeding consequent to annual floods in the low-lying region.
• The impact, particularly on the rural poor, continues year after year.
• The Kosi flooded again this year and 500 people are dead and nearly 17million have been rendered homeless in Mithila.

Way ahead

• State complicity in illegal construction is the primary reason for the repeated collapse.
• The sycophancy of the political establishment simply to align with vote banks is reaching a new high.
• Rioting by lawless goons was an issue because the political and administrative machinery has been totally captured by such godmen