The world is witnessing as Japan is dealing with the massive devastation after an 8.9-magnitude earthquake and a powerful tsunami. Thousands of people have died and coastal cities have been swiped away by the natural calamity. According to the Internet media and the news services, the destruction could have been much enormous had it not been the strict building norms and high level of preparedness. The high rise towers in Japan contain extra steel bracing, giant rubber pads and embedded hydraulic shock absorbers to make the concrete structures the most stalwart for any major earthquake.
Nature has its own ways of either showering its blessings or showing its anger. It has nothing to do with any specific country, community, religion or else. It does not discriminate amongst the rich and the poor. The big question is if by any chance any such disaster happens to Mumbai, will the city be able to breathe the next moment? Are our concrete jungles capable enough to handle even a bit of it? Given the massive population the city is home to, can we ever imagine the number of lives at stake?
There are so many lessons to be learnt by the political powers and real estate lobby running in the Mumbai city. The way projects are passed and executed, it would not be a surprise if most of these buildings are not capable of handling such disasters. To add to the miseries, mangroves which are of vital importance in maintaining the ecology are being cleared to pave ways for high rise towers. According to marine environmentalists, Mumbai is one of the best examples for the mangrove destruction due to urbanization.
Given the fact that Mumbai is a peninsular city, shouldn't we be more cautious towards the dangers of such developments? Isn't the high time that the civic authorities and the government take the bold decisions and much needed steps in this direction?
Nature has its own ways of either showering its blessings or showing its anger. It has nothing to do with any specific country, community, religion or else. It does not discriminate amongst the rich and the poor. The big question is if by any chance any such disaster happens to Mumbai, will the city be able to breathe the next moment? Are our concrete jungles capable enough to handle even a bit of it? Given the massive population the city is home to, can we ever imagine the number of lives at stake?
There are so many lessons to be learnt by the political powers and real estate lobby running in the Mumbai city. The way projects are passed and executed, it would not be a surprise if most of these buildings are not capable of handling such disasters. To add to the miseries, mangroves which are of vital importance in maintaining the ecology are being cleared to pave ways for high rise towers. According to marine environmentalists, Mumbai is one of the best examples for the mangrove destruction due to urbanization.
Given the fact that Mumbai is a peninsular city, shouldn't we be more cautious towards the dangers of such developments? Isn't the high time that the civic authorities and the government take the bold decisions and much needed steps in this direction?
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