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Public demand for the resignation of Anil Bachoo as Minister

6 avril 2013, 07:15

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lexpress.mu | Toute l'actualité de l'île Maurice en temps réel.

 

Caprice de dame Nature, natural disaster, catastrophenaturelle, climate change, flash floods – whatever name or qualification we give to what occurred Saturday, the fact remains that a relatively three to four short hours of, albeit, continuous heavy rainfall has been sufficient to claim the lives of more than a dozen of our citizens and several billions of rupees of damage to infrastructure and properties. And this, without taking account of the untold damage in terms of panic, fear, stress, despair and all sorts of misery caused to those unfortunate to fall victims of this calamity.

 

One shudders to think what would have been the nightmarish results if the rainfall had continued for a further three hours! It is undeniable fact that we, human beings, find ourselves totally inefficient, totally helpless in front of some of the more destructive forces of Nature.

 

But, was Saturday’s three to four hours of rainfall of such an intensity, of such a force as to qualify as “destructive”? Were the deaths of our unfortunate fellow-citizens, the colossal damage sustained, solely the doings of the rainfall? Hasn’t there been some man-made actions or man-inactions that have contributed to the awful disaster?

 

In the early 80’s we had continuous heavy rainfall for nearly a fortnight. There was flooding throughout the country. But, even though we were less advanced then, with less technological facilities at our disposal, we did not suffer casualties as heavy as those of Saturday. Most of the water pouring down the Montagne des Signaux towards Pailles had the then vast open plains to absorb it, and the remaining was carried away by existing drains. The downpour towards the city was very effectively canalized to the sea by the Labourdonnais-made and other natural drains.

 

Then we had our country getting “developed”, with thousands of building permits being granted over the years by the authorities to misconceived plans with total absence of provisions for drains; or, worse, actually filling up (combler) and obliterating long-existing drains. Favouritism, political pressure, inability to say no to the powerful of the day, but mainly bribery and corruption have been behind this criminal practice.

 

And since more recently, we have a person afflicted with a unique and strange malady: he cannot see a road, a bridge or a drain without catching up an epilepsy-type of frenzy to repair, re-build, enlarge, put fly-overs in complete disregard of topographical realities, and of the so essential existing natural or long ago man-made drains. And, spending billions rupees of our money in the process! Still more criminal is his allowing engineers, technicians and builders to dump rocks from excavations, heavy concrete and iron-bars debris wherever they want and thus creating obstructing barriers to the easy flow of any rainwater.

 

The permits-awarding district councils and the municipalities and, more directly, the Ministry of Public Infrastructure are responsible for the fatal tragedies and for most of the massive damages that occurred Saturday. If the Minister has any self-respect, any decency, he must resign. And, this is not fer politik lorlamor dimoun, Mr PM! It is a legitimate demand precisely because of «la mort» of our innocent fellow-citizens. Less directly responsible Ministers in India and Europe, in similar fatalities (even in less serious fatalities), have been known to voluntarily tender their resignations.