The pre-monsoon showers have brought relief to the people of the state, especially farmers after a long dry spell since December last year. It has not only brought down the mercury level that was rising quickly but also gave hope to farmers in the state who have been eagerly waiting for rains to start various farming activities. Timely and adequate pre-monsoon precipitation is vital for good agricultural output, as it aids cultivation by recharging groundwater and other water bodies. Interestingly, it also exposes the preparedness of the authorities in dealing with a possible downpour and flood, especially in urban settings before the monsoon arrives. Well, water logging witnessed in some areas of Dimapur and Kohima during the showers that began last week laid bare a possible scenario in the event of a downpour during monsoon. The concerned authorities should start preparing to deal with the issues that come along with rain, including desilting of drains and formulating ways to manage rain-related distress calls and providing assistance. This is one of the basic routines that municipal corporations in big cities look into before the arrival of monsoon to minimise civic woes. If desilting of drains and other flood-preventive measures are yet to be initiated, the concerned authorities should begin on a war footing and complete drain-cleaning work before the rain arrives.
Civic woes during rainy season, especially in urban areas can also be attributed to lack of civic sense among citizens. Besides unplanned urbanisation, poor waste management and others for the swelling issues in urban settlements like Dimapur and Kohima, people also contribute to their own woes. Urban floods are often triggered by water logging caused by plastic bags and other items strewn on the streets and drains by the public, as well as unregulated construction of buildings in low-laying areas and wetlands. Urban floods are more of a man-made disaster than a natural calamity today. To address urban woes, the people too should help themselves by implementing measures as simple as segregating various types of wastes and maintaining public hygiene. Such steps from the public will go a long way in keeping the towns clean, alleviate civic issues like floods, prevent the spread of communicable and water-borne diseases, etc. Effective civic bodies like municipal and town councils are also vital in addressing hyper-local issues related to sanitation, public health, waste management, urban planning and other basic amenities. With extreme weather events like flash flood due to heavy precipitation and drought expected to intensify due to climate change, both the authorities and people should play their parts in reducing disaster risk. Farmers too should brace themselves for erratic rainfall patterns and adopt climate-resilient agriculture practices.