No one, no matter how healthy, wealthy, or rich on the entire planet has got enough powers to suppress the natural forces to inferior levels, or take complete control over them. Forces on the mercy of nature - be in the form of ravaging floods/Tsunami, destructive earthquakes/landslides, formidable wildfires, or dreadful Draughts; not just put a heavy toll on people through the sheer daily-life inconvenience, but have long-term serious repercussions as well. All of which actually have the potential to create unpleasant waves in all the three: political, social, and economical sectors in a country. Even the strongest, and the most influential people feel helpless in the ruthless fury of natural forces, and get all their peace and power subdued under the deluge of ghastly nature.
Although India, fortunately, isn’t going through any of such gigantic natural upheaval; unfortunately, is suffering with a challenging ‘poor monsoon’ in the
ongoing times. Poor monsoon though, doesn’t bring with it some direct tumultuous
results for humankind, but no doubt brings a litany of indirect torments for people. I don’t want to make this article an overwhelming read, pounding it
with geographical jargons; but I do need to put a phenomenon that can be blamed
as the biggest reason for the faltering monsoon across the length and breadth
of the country.
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| Photo by Wolfgang Hasselmann on Unsplash |
El Nino year it is! In simplest
of the words, it’s a geographical phenomenon causing the cooling of western Pacific
waters, that in the long run causes draught-like conditions in broader Asia (and obviously India) due to the deficit in normal rainfall across the
region. Though, there are multiple other reasons pointing to the abysmal
trajectory of monsoon this year, the seminal one remains the above. Talking about
the immediate ramifications of the above, the overall country and the common
citizens suffer due to scarcity of water – that itself brings with it a gamut
of complications hampering the health and the overall well-being of people. But,
one sector that gets the most affected is the primary, i.e. the Agricultural
sector of our economy. A sub-optimal rainfall not just causes short-term hurdles
for the sector, but actually works as a vicious web that in the long run badly
affects multiple other sectors as well.
Now putting the adverse effects of low rainfall in a sequential manner. A rain deficit monsoon will claim
the healthy growth of a wide range of Kharif crops including paddy, and several
other horticultural crops as we have been seeing in the case of ‘tomato’ and ‘onion’
in the present times (and about to see ‘sugarcane’ facing the same heat in the
months to come. That eventually will put a severe dent on the blooming sugar
industry). A poor harvest of these crops will cause a supply crunch in the
market, that will further deteriorate by the adoption of insensitive practices like ‘hoarding’ by big farmers and cartels. This eventually, following
the basic ‘Law of Supply and Demand’, will make the prices to gradually increase, and reach to abnormally
higher levels. Above will put a severe dent in the pockets of poor, lower, and the middle class, compelling them to curtail, or compromise on their basic needs. The
latent, and the long-term effect poses an even bleaker picture with the people (especially
the poor and the lower class) and their upcoming generations suffering from
malnutrition and underdevelopment in the long run.
A democratically elected government,
though, has all the keys to unlock any kind of problem; the damages caused
by such invincible forces of nature can’t be eradicated completely, no matter how hard or stupendous efforts it puts in. Nonetheless, to at least alleviate the misery of
people, the government generally comes up with the following measures. Firstly, to
maintain a healthy stock in the country, it gives some caveats in the import
duties on specific crops. Secondly, the government puts a curb on the exports of
crops affected by the low rainfall, so as to give another boost to the stock of crops in the country. Lastly, the government releases lacs of tonnes of preserved
stock from its buffer, which is managed and regulated by the Food Corporation of
India (FCI).
The above steps taken by the government indeed minimize the plight of common man, but at the same time hurt the economy in the long future. None of us, not even highly intellectual or erudite scientists could keep humanity aloof from such sabotaging faces of nature, or completely avert them. The recent horrible wildfires in Maui, Hawaii; mad rain’s fury in Himachal Pradesh, India; hottest July on record around the globe well justify the above. But at least, all of us can do our part by not contributing to the drastic increase in greenhouse gases (Carbon Dioxide, Carbon Monoxide, Nitrous Oxide, etc.) with our negligent, irresponsible, and careless attitude towards Mother Earth. This, might not completely control nature from showing its evil & violent side, but at least will certainly cool it off a bit.