Bangalore faced heavy rains during the last few days. Water flooded in many of the low lying areas and traffic stopped for many hours, many vehicles are lost. Still it is raining and no one is able to predict what will be Bangalore’s face after a few days. The same thing happened in Bombay a few weaks back. But in Bombay the situation was too horrific. This is the case with most of the cities. Our cities are not able to with stand any natural phenomena which deviates slightly more than the normal level.
Humans live in societies. When we, humans, accumulate in some place in large numbers, a lot of unbalance occurs in the nature. The recent phenomenon in Bangalore and Bombay is an example for such a kind of natural unbalance. The flood reminded me about a very small incident that happened about two years ago, while I was working as a lecturer in Mary Matha College, Mananthavady.
I was returning to home from the college. I left the college around 4-0-clock. On the way I was held up due to heavy rain. I stopped riding the bike and took shelter in one of the nearby shop. Watching the heavy rain was funny. As the rain increased, water started forming tiny streams on both sides of the road. The road separated a forest (the continuation of Mysore forest) from the cultivation lands. The shop where I took shelter stayed opposite to the side where it was forest.
The rain lasted for almost one and a half hour. The road became almost flooded and the cultivation lands became muddy and many newly formed small streams of water were flowing through the land. But on the other side, in the forest land, even after such a heavy and sudden rain, not even a single stream of water formed due to the rain. The soil absorbed all the rain water not allowing forming tiny streams. Due to human’s intervention, the soil on the cultivation land lost the capability to absorb water. In the forest, the roots of tiny grass, plants and big trees, make it possible for the soil to absorb the water.
Natural unbalance of one or the other type occurs whenever humans clog in an area. Nature will find a way to bring back itself. But it may be a natural calamity for us. Draining out the water during heavy rain is a huge problem for almost all the cities. I believe nature is doing a kind of cleaning by itself by such process. The cost we have to pay back for the unbalance we create in the nature is high. So think twice before distorting any kind of natural process.
Humans live in societies. When we, humans, accumulate in some place in large numbers, a lot of unbalance occurs in the nature. The recent phenomenon in Bangalore and Bombay is an example for such a kind of natural unbalance. The flood reminded me about a very small incident that happened about two years ago, while I was working as a lecturer in Mary Matha College, Mananthavady.
I was returning to home from the college. I left the college around 4-0-clock. On the way I was held up due to heavy rain. I stopped riding the bike and took shelter in one of the nearby shop. Watching the heavy rain was funny. As the rain increased, water started forming tiny streams on both sides of the road. The road separated a forest (the continuation of Mysore forest) from the cultivation lands. The shop where I took shelter stayed opposite to the side where it was forest.
The rain lasted for almost one and a half hour. The road became almost flooded and the cultivation lands became muddy and many newly formed small streams of water were flowing through the land. But on the other side, in the forest land, even after such a heavy and sudden rain, not even a single stream of water formed due to the rain. The soil absorbed all the rain water not allowing forming tiny streams. Due to human’s intervention, the soil on the cultivation land lost the capability to absorb water. In the forest, the roots of tiny grass, plants and big trees, make it possible for the soil to absorb the water.
Natural unbalance of one or the other type occurs whenever humans clog in an area. Nature will find a way to bring back itself. But it may be a natural calamity for us. Draining out the water during heavy rain is a huge problem for almost all the cities. I believe nature is doing a kind of cleaning by itself by such process. The cost we have to pay back for the unbalance we create in the nature is high. So think twice before distorting any kind of natural process.
