Tarigami seeks people’s participation in environmental policy, stronger early warning systems

Srinagar, Aug 16CNS: Chairman of the Committee on Environment and CPI(M) leader M Y Tarigami has expressed deep concern over the deadly cloudburst at Chisoti in Padder, Kishtwar, which has claimed several lives, left many missing, and caused widespread devastation.
Terming the incident a grim reminder of the Himalayan region’s vulnerability to extreme weather events such as flash floods, landslides and avalanches, Tarigami said the tragedy underscored the existential threat posed by climate change to Jammu and Kashmir’s fragile ecosystem. He asked whether any comprehensive survey or assessment had ever been undertaken by the environment department or related agencies to safeguard areas that host shrines and yatras, which attract thousands of devotees every year.
While paying tribute to the volunteers, youth, and local communities who displayed solidarity and communal harmony during the rescue operations, Tarigami lauded their “heroic role” in the face of tragedy. At the same time, he demanded a time-bound probe into the disaster, questioning why precautionary measures were not taken despite prior alerts from the Meteorological Department about heavy rainfall and possible cloudbursts. Ignoring these warnings, he said, amounted to criminal negligence, and bureaucratic inertia and lack of concern must be accounted for.
Tarigami noted that such disasters were not merely natural but were worsened by reckless exploitation of resources, deforestation, unregulated stone crushing, and unchecked commercialization of land. He added that it was the marginalized communities of Jammu and Kashmir who continued to pay the price for environmental degradation while profit-driven forces remained unchecked. Citing the alarming frequency of cloudbursts and extreme weather events in Pahalgam, Bandipora, Shangus, Ladakh and elsewhere, he observed that nature itself was crying out for justice as hills mourned, rivers wept and winds warned of more to come.
He stressed that the way forward lay in involving local communities, activists and NGOs in decision-making on climate adaptation and mitigation policies. He pressed for institutional mechanisms to provide climate compensation and justice to affected families, alongside a mass campaign for ecological restoration, reforestation and stricter regulation of unsustainable construction. He further urged the government to deploy modern weather-tracking technologies like Doppler radars and satellites to strengthen early warning systems, ensuring timely alerts to vulnerable populations through mobile networks, local broadcasters and even loudspeakers.
In his concluding remarks, Tarigami called for a united people’s movement across classes, students, and intellectuals to demand climate justice. “The winds warn us, the rivers cry out—this is not just a disaster, it is a clarion call for systemic change,” he said. (CNS)