Floods - need to look beyond blame game
The Government of India adopted the first Flood Control Policy in 1954 and proceeded to construct 33928.642 kilometers of embankments along its rivers, 38809.857 kilometers of drainage channels dug to drain unwanted floodwaters and protect 2458 towns against floods and raise 4716 villages above the maximum observed flood level. It is worth noting that the nationwide floods of 1954 had a spread area of only 7.490 mh. This had gone up by 22 times in the 51 years between 1954 and 2004 despite an investment of Rs. 8113.11 crores till the end of the ninth FYP (2002).