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Why Cuba and Netherlands set an example for India in dealing with floods.?

Floods became a challenge after the monsoon rains in many states of India. This disaster is not new for the country.

Why Cuba and Netherlands set an example for India in dealing with floods.?

Floods became a challenge after the monsoon rains in many states of India. This disaster is not new for the country.

About five years ago, during the monsoon, the Mahananda River was in spate in Bihar. The flood proved disastrous for Kunti Devi and her family. The water carried away Kunti Devi's husband.

In the year 2017, the death toll from floods in India, Bangladesh and Nepal was more than 12 hundred.

After five years i.e. this year also the floods became the cause of destruction in many states of India.

In Assam alone, more than two thousand villages in more than 27 districts were affected by the floods. Government figures have confirmed the death of more than a hundred people.

About 4 million people were affected due to floods in the northeastern part of Bangladesh.

This difficulty is not seen only in South Asia. Last year, cyclonic storm 'Aida' became a problem for America. More than 40 people died due to the impact of the storm.

Scientists around the world are warning that incidents of 'nature's wrath' may increase in the coming years.

But can the damage caused by it be reduced and deaths prevented?

Journalist Amanda Ripley explains, "I was doing a series on disasters for Time magazine. These included the 9/11 attacks, Cyclone Katrina, and other disasters. I found that the survivors of different types of accidents were largely were telling the same stories."

The stories Amanda heard weren't just about tragedy and loss. They also came to know how people react in times of disaster and how it can put them in danger.

Amanda says that most of the deaths during floods in developed countries are due to drowning. In most such cases, it has been seen that people were trying to cross the flood water or were driving in the middle of the water.

Amanda says that usually the brain is not able to correctly estimate the danger associated with water. People are unable to assess the power of flowing water and sometimes they overestimate their capacity. Actually, for many people driving in the middle of the rain is not a unique thing. They are not afraid of it and sometimes they get into trouble.

Amanda explains, "15 cm of water running as high as ankle height is enough to knock you down. 15 cm of water can stop a car. If there is 30 cm of water, then your car can float. 60 cm If there is water, you can flow. We probably don't even think that this much water can kill us."

Amanda also answers why we can't assess the situation properly.

She says, “There is a fear in our mind for situations like cancer or terrorism that we feel that we cannot control them, but something that we consider ourselves to be aware of or believe that we can overcome it. We can control it, as if we are not afraid of rain and we see danger differently.

Research conducted in developed countries such as the US and Australia has revealed that a certain group of people are accustomed to underestimate the risk.

Amanda says that men are more than twice as likely to die during floods.

One reason for this is that men are more likely to work in hazardous areas than women. One of the major reasons is men's habit of taking risks. However, not all men are the same in this matter. She says that "about 30 percent of white men see very little risk of driving in water."

The elderly are more alert to the dangers that lie ahead. But they can put themselves in trouble when they make decisions like leaving home during bad weather.

Amanda says, "I spoke to the family of an elderly person who died in Hurricane Katrina. They did not want to leave the house. They did not want to spend 20 hours in their daughter's car with children and dogs. Like he too was afraid to leave his house.

In difficult situations, many times people's decisions become the reason for their death.

Now the question is how to stop such deaths?

Amanda says that governments can inform people about the danger in advance. The warning should be clear, precise and detailed and should be repeated over and over again.

Flood prevention measures

Kees Bones, a specialist in water resources management, works for the Institute 'Deltares' in the Netherlands.

He says, "It might be surprising to people outside the Netherlands that we don't think about floods every day. Is."

Kees Bones, who seems careless about the flood, does not forget to mention that more than 50 percent of the GDP of the Netherlands comes from below sea level. In such a situation, if there is a flood in the western part of the Netherlands, then the economy here will be ruined.

He says that the people of the Netherlands have been working towards stopping floods for centuries. It started with the extraction of water through windmills and steam engines.

After the great devastation in 1953, the people of the Netherlands intensified efforts to deal with the floods. At that time more than 18 hundred people died due to floods.

Kees Bones explains, "It was a time of decision for the people of the Netherlands. After that the Netherlands decided to prepare a plan which we call the Delta Plan."

Large scale construction projects were made in it. Dams and barriers were built to stop the sea water. It cost about $6 billion. It took almost 40 years to complete.

But due to rising sea levels and climate change, it seems that the task of getting protection from floods will never be completed. For this a new delta law was made.

Keyes states that one billion euros is earmarked for flood protection every year.

In the Netherlands, most of the money is spent on building large projects. One of these is the 'Rotterdam Harbor Flood Barrier'.

He explains, "This is a storm barrier. It has two doors. Each door is as high as the Eiffel Tower. Its control is entirely computer-controlled. To close it, the flood risk is assessed. What is the level, what is the level of the storm. What is the level of rain, etc. It is a very hi-tech system."

The Netherlands has also made a lot of progress in terms of weather forecasting.

Kees Bones explains, "In the Netherlands, we want to have an accurate flood forecast of 10 to 20 centimeters. Even if you can't stop the flood, people have a chance to go to higher places. So that they can lose their valuables." Safe

Through these measures, the Netherlands has got great security. Keyes Bones says that he does not remember when the last death in his country was due to floods.

Keys Bones has also advised the Government of India. He says that in the year 2017, he had also warned the Bangladesh government a week before the floods.

Devastation and lessons

This year (in 2022) floods became the cause of great destruction in the northeastern part of Bangladesh. The deaths of many people, including small children, have been confirmed. More than 40 lakh people are homeless. Bangladesh faces the problem of floods almost every year.

Dr Ashraf Dewan, a specialist in weather and floods associated with Curtin University of Australia, says, "When I was in high school, it was 1988, when Bangladesh was in the grip of severe floods. About 61% of the country was under water for three months. Drowned."

A large part of Bangladesh falls in the world's largest delta region. It is one of the most fertile areas but floods are a permanent problem here.

Dr Ashraf says that floods cause major devastation in Bangladesh every five or ten years and the government spend more than 20 percent of its total budget on projects related to water management.

Dr Ashraf explains that sometimes these constructions give a 'false sense of security'. Considering the site close to the dam and other constructions as safe, people start settling there and are not aware of the dangers present there.

They say that here it is difficult to try the measures of rich countries like Netherlands. There is a need for cheap measures in Bangladesh. This includes accurately identifying the flood-prone area and making evacuation plans.

Dr Ashraf Diwan says, "You have to build more shelters for flood situation. If you can tell people that see this flood shelter is near your house. You can go here when there is a flood situation. "

The death toll during floods is decreasing worldwide. Due to better technology, accurate weather forecast is available. But still people will be surrounded by floods. It is also important to plan for post-flood situations. Many people get caught by typhoid during monsoon. The reason for this is contaminated water. Many people also face the problem of diarrhea and cholera during the monsoon season. I think by informing people the effect of these diseases and other problems can be reduced.

Dr. Dewan says that governments should suggest solutions for the future. Local people should also be included in the plan that is made. But is this happening?

On this question Dr. Ashraf says, "At present we don't seem to be doing this. During floods you will hear a lot of noise in the country but as soon as the flood water recedes, we all forget. We don't do anything that in future. Let us save people and property."

learn from cuban

Cuba remains an example for the world regarding the management of natural disasters.

"In the 1950s, when I lived there, there were a lot of tornadoes and great destruction," says Elizabeth Newhouse, advisor to the Cuban Program at the Center for International Policy, a Washington-based think tank.

Elizabeth now lives in America, but she grew up in Cuba and has seen what storms can do.

She says that she saw many storms in Cuba and her experience was very scary.

Sometimes change begins after a major accident. In the case of Cuba, this accident was the cyclonic storm 'Flora' of 1964.

Elizabeth explains, "Seven thousand people died due to the Flora storm. After that they adopted the civil defense system. It is headed by the President of the country. It is very effective. It covers every aspect of preparing to deal with the storm. Gone."

After this, the Comprehensive Emergency System was implemented. Elizabeth says that this is one of the best systems in the world. She says that very few people die in Cuba due to storms and floods and the reason for this is preparation. In schools, children are taught from a young age how to prepare themselves.

Every year drill means preparation is tested and then when the storm comes, everyone from big government officials to local volunteers work together according to the plan.

Elizabeth says that about 120 hours before the civil defense people start preparing. About 36 hours ago, they get into action rapidly.

During one of the most severe cyclonic storms 'Irma', Cuba showed the world what to do on such occasions.

"They started evacuating people 24 hours before the storm hit. Most people went to their friends and relatives' homes. The rest went to rescue centers. They were also accompanied by pets. Their household items could not be found if they were to be found," Elizabeth says. If there was any loss, the government would have compensated for it. So they were not worried about the goods. In such a situation, they did not face any difficulty in going to a safe place."

Elizabeth says that volunteers or officials provide help to the elderly, sick, pregnant women and all other people who cannot go to safe places on their own. Even if someone wants to stay, he is not allowed to stay in a dangerous place.

Elizabeth explains, "Their (Cuba's) record of saving lives is excellent. For example, in the event of a hurricane, Cuba has two deaths per 100,000 people. In the US this number is closer to 15. In Cuba Everything stays on track and it takes practice."

America and other countries also took cognizance of this. He sent disaster management experts to Cuba to understand how this small country managed to reduce the death toll during a natural disaster.

Coming back to the same question that how to prevent the deaths due to floods?

As our experts pointed out, accurate weather forecast can make a big difference.

In rich countries, it is possible to counter natural disasters through construction. But the Cuban approach can be effective for developing countries facing the problem of floods, lack of resources and climate change.

And plan, as our fourth expert, Elizabeth, says. teach people. This Cuban mantra will be useful in saving lives.

#floods #northeast #evacuate #latest world news #flooding #assam floods #northeast floods #prayfornortheast #learnfromcuba #cuba #culture #history #nature #cuban food #cuban revolution #cubano #panama #netherlands

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world-of-digital · 2 years

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Imports in India have increased a lot and exports have come down drastically, know the reason....!

Saudi Arabia lags behind Russia in selling oil to India.

How are India and China helping Russia by buying cheaper oil?

India is not leaning on Russia, but the deficit has increased - Press Review.

During the months of April and May this year, India imported 3.7 times more than Russia.

Be the first to read in today's press review, the news of India's record oil import increase from Russia, which is facing sanctions after the attack on Ukraine.

According to the report of the English newspaper 'Times of India', within two months, Russia has exported five billion dollars to India, in which the quantity of crude oil is the highest. This is half of the total imports made from Russia from 2021 to 2022.

Since Russia's attack on Ukraine in February, India's imports have increased nearly three and a half times to $ 8.6 billion. During the year 2021, India's imports from Russia in the same period were only $ 2.5 billion.

Quoting data available with the Ministry of Commerce, the report said that apart from petroleum, there has been a significant increase in the import of fertilizers and cooking oil. There has also been a big increase in the import of coal, diamond and other precious gems. India's trade deficit with Russia has increased.

Under pressure, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar had also made it clear to the international media that the amount of oil India is buying from Russia, Europe buys in less than a day.

India has been continuously saying that by buying oil from Russia, it is not violating any sanctions. In June, the news agency Reuters also reported in its report that Russia has overtaken Saudi Arabia in the list of countries that sell the most oil to India. Iraq is at number one.

Imports increased but exports hit

India's imports from Russia have increased, but it is paying its price in the form of declining exports. According to the newspaper report, due to the reduction in India's exports to Russia, the trade deficit reached $ 4.8 billion in the first two months of the year 2022-23, compared to $ 900 million in the same period last year.

According to estimates in April and May 2022, imports of fuel products have increased six-fold to $4.2 billion. Of this, crude oil has been purchased at a cost of $ 3.2 billion. At the same time, during 2021, no imports were made from Russia in these two months.

Except for the month of February (when the war started), the import of 'mineral oil' from Russia has increased every month. Between February and May, these imports were said to be $ 5.3 billion, which is five times more than the same time last year.

These figures show that in spite of international pressure since March till now, the Indian government is importing from Russia without any hesitation.

Based on government sources in the report, it has been told that sanctions imposed by Western countries have helped India to get better deals with Russian companies and it is in the interest of India's economy.

Unlike in the early days of the war, these figures show that there are now direct transactions between the two countries because crude oil is exempted from international sanctions. As a result, imports of fertilizers have also increased, and since the start of the war in February, the value of shipments has increased eight-fold to $608 million.

#indiangovernment #india today #indianews #india headlines #modi #russia #vladimir putin #moscow #crude oil #oil prices #petrol prices #import #export #politics #fuel #gas #countries #global

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world-of-digital · 2 years

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Why is Maruti Suzuki hesitant to increase the airbags?

Airbags inflate when a car crashes and have been saving the lives of drivers and car passengers around the world for decades. Airbags are considered the most important safety measure in vehicles since seatbelts.

The Government of India is going to implement the scheme of installing 6 airbags in all cars from this year. But India's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki is reluctant to do so.

According to World Bank statistics, one out of every 10 people killed in car accidents worldwide is an Indian.

Japanese company Suzuki Motor Corp. has a major stake in Maruti Suzuki. This company says that increasing the number of airbags will increase the price, which will affect the sales of small cars. Maruti Suzuki is at the forefront of the small car segment in India.

The company's chairman RC Bhargava told Reuters news agency, "It will hurt the small and poor people who cannot afford expensive cars."

In Indian cars, it is mandatory for the front passenger and driver to have two airbags in advance. According to an estimate, installing four more airbags will increase the price by at least Rs 18,500.

Only eight percent of the households in India own a car. The starting price of the car in the Indian market is at least three lakh 40 thousand rupees.

"The losses in the low-cost segment in the car market will be huge. There is already a lot of price sensitivity here," says Bhargava.

According to the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers, a representative body of 44% of vehicle and engine companies in India, 3 million cars were sold in India last year, which was 13 percent more than the previous financial year.

Most of the people in India buy small and cheap cars but in recent years the number of buyers of utility, sports and multi utility cars has also increased.

India is the fourth largest car market in the world. About 30 million people work directly and indirectly in the car industry. The contribution of the car market to the Indian GDP is about 6 percent.

The good things about cars end here. According to the World Bank, India has close to one percent of the world's cars, but 10 percent of the deaths related to car accidents occur in India itself.

In the year 2020 in India, more than 130,000 people lost their lives in road accidents. Close to 70 percent of those who died were in the age group of 18-45. More than half of these were those who were walking on the road or riding a bicycle or a motorcycle.

Car accidents in India cause a loss of about three percent of GDP every year. India has set a target to reduce road accident deaths by half by 2025.

To do this, the government wants to increase the safety standards in vehicles. Apart from making six airbags mandatory in cars, the government also wants to implement India NCAP.

This car safety organization will implement a safety rating system for cars, in which one to five stars will be given. These will be based on crash tests. These will be based on child safety techniques in addition to adult passengers in vehicles.

#maruti suzuki #maruti baleno #maruti swift #airbags #cars #automobile #business #automoto #automotriz #automoveis #indiangovernment #indianews #todaynews #today headlines #india headlines #india today #google news #modi

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GST on packaged essential goods

GST on packaged essential goods was imposed after consultation with the states, the central government clarified

GST on packaged essential goods was imposed after consultation with the states, the central government clarifiedSome states said that the income they used to get from the levy on food items earlier, has ended with the abolition of GST.Union Revenue Secretary Tarun Bajaj has made this claim. He said that the GST to be implemented from July 18 on everyday packaged goods is not the decision of the Central Government. This is the decision of the GST Council. The fitment committee had considered this, the committee consists of officers from the center and the states as well.Bajaj said that the GST Council consists of a group of ministers and ministers as representatives of the states. The GST Council is the constitutional body to decide on GST. He has decided to levy GST on counterfeit goods.

Some states said that the income they used to get from the levy on food items earlier, has ended with the abolition of GST.

Union Revenue Secretary Tarun Bajaj has made this claim. He said that the GST to be implemented from July 18 on everyday packaged goods is not the decision of the Central Government. This is the decision of the GST Council. The fitment committee had considered this, the committee consists of officers from the center and the states as well.

Bajaj said that the GST Council consists of a group of ministers and ministers as representatives of the states. The GST Council is the constitutional body to decide on GST. He has decided to levy GST on counterfeit goods.

#news #dailyupdate #newnews #indianews #gst #indiangovernment #bjp #worldofdigitalgroup #worldofdigitalindia #business #politics

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world-of-digital · 2 years

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The governor of Pakistan's central bank told that Pakistan has sunk in foreign debt

The governor of Pakistan's central bank told how much foreign debt is on the country.

There are many speculations about the economic condition of Pakistan. Sometimes there are statements about default and sometimes there is a possibility of bankruptcy.

In December 2021, Syed Shabbar Zaidi, former chairman of the Federal Board of Revenue, Pakistan's financial affairs investigation agency, said that if we look at the recent current account and fiscal deficit, then these are issues related to Pakistan's bankruptcy.

He had said, "The government's claim that everything is fine and things are going well. All these things are false."

However, later Zaidi also clarified about it. At the same time, the Finance Minister of Pakistan had warned that if the subsidy on oil is not reduced, then Pakistan will become a defaulter and its condition will be like Sri Lanka.

Considering the current situation and political instability in Sri Lanka, concerns were also raised for Pakistan.

Due to rising oil prices in the global market, there is tremendous pressure on Pakistan's foreign exchange reserves, which is pushing it to the brink of crisis.

Pakistan's foreign exchange reserves have fallen to $ 9.3 billion, which is not enough for even five weeks of imports.

The Pakistani rupee has weakened and reached a record low. Against a dollar, the Pakistan rupee has reached around 210.

The new government of Pakistan's Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif now needs to cut expenses rapidly as it is spending 40 percent of its revenue only to pay interest.

But, in view of the global projections, fake news and panic among the people, now the acting governor and deputy governor of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) have talked in detail about the situation in Pakistan in a program.

Acting Governor Murtaza Sayed, Deputy Governor Inayat Hussain and Deputy Governor Seema Kamil were present in this podcast of SBP on YouTube, who explained the situation of debt, foreign reserves and falling rupee on the country with a positive outlook.

Acting Governor Dr Murtaza Sayed said that the next 12 months will be very difficult for the global economy. As we get out of Kovid, we are seeing global commodity prices rising. The Federal Reserve is tightening up and there are geopolitical tensions too. Because of this, all the countries of the world are troubled and inflation is increasing. The country which has more debt, there is a bad situation. But, Pakistan is not as weak as people understand. There are three basic reasons for this.

The acting governor said, "Our policies are such that we can slow down our economy a bit. We have come out well from Kovid. Yes, this year's budget will be a little tight but we are working on it. Most important It is that in the next 12 months, countries that have IMF programs will survive and those that do not will be under a lot of pressure. Ghana, Zambia, Tunisia and Angola do not have IMF programs. You Pakistan's external debt, country's policies And looking at the cover of IMF, we are not as weak as people think."

Pakistan has a staff level agreement with the IMF but the board level remains. For this, Pakistan will also have to fulfill certain conditions.

Regarding the difficulty involved, Murtaza Sayed said, "The staff level agreement with the IMF is not a small thing. It is a big achievement. It means that the IMF staff feel that what we had to do for this program He's done. After that if you fulfill your commitments, it's easy enough for you to go on board. After that we will get the money. The world will see that Pakistan is on track."

Deputy Governor Inayat Hussain said, "Pakistan's foreign reserves are close to $ 9.3 billion. These are not the levels we would be very happy with. We would like to improve this and it reaches the level of imports in three months. But, this is also not the level of reserve at which we should be too worried. Fake things are also going on about this on social media.

The difference between the imports and exports of a country is called foreign reserve. If a country does not have this reserve, then it will not be able to import.

The deputy governor said, "We have enough reserves which can take us forward for the next few months. The money will start flowing after the IMF program is approved. There are also some multilateral agencies, money will also come from there. Our assessment is that we will easily meet Pakistan's financial needs for the next year. After this the budget will also increase.

Inayat Hussain also talked about Pakistan's gold reserve. He said that Pakistan has a gold reserve whose value is close to $ 3.8 billion. This is in addition to foreign reserves. There is no such situation that one has to take a loan against gold to increase the foreign reserves.

The Deputy Governor also gave reasons for the decrease in the Pakistani rupee.

He said that the value of Pakistan's rupee has come down by 18 percent since December. But, the decrease of 12 percent is due to the increase in the value of the US dollar. The first of our own reasons behind the fall of the rupee is that in Pakistan the demand is more than the supply of the dollar. Pakistan's imports were very high in recent months. Our expectation is that imports will come down and the rupee will strengthen. At the same time, the market sentiment also has an effect on the rupee.

The "Mera Pakistan Mera Ghar" scheme is run in Pakistan for people to buy their house at affordable rates, which has been stopped for the time being.

But, on what will happen next for this scheme, Deputy Governor Seema Kamil said, "This is a scheme in which the common man who cannot take the house will be able to take his house." His installment should be such that he can pay. For this the government used to give subsidy. Now this subsidy is becoming difficult for the economy. Therefore, Pakistan decided that it should be stopped for some time and it should be reconstituted. This scheme will come back and people with low income will definitely benefit from it.

First let's talk about the current debt on Pakistan. This is the most important. At present, 70 percent of the GDP is left on Pakistan. The kind of countries with which we are being linked like Ghana, Egypt, Zambia. Ghana accounts for 80 percent of GDP, Egypt 90 percent, Zambia 100 percent and Sri Lanka 120 percent. The debt level on Pakistan is very low.

It also includes how much debt is from outside. In the case of Pakistan, 40 percent of the GDP is external debt. Tunisia has over 90 percent, Angola has over 120 percent and Zambia has more than 150 percent. We have more domestic debt which is easy to handle because it is in our own currency.

The second is short-term debt in external debt. This is only seven percent of us, the rest of the countries like Turkey have 30 percent.

The last thing that is seen on what terms you have taken an external loan. In our case only 20 per cent is on commercial terms the rest is based on exemptions which are taken from IMF and World Bank. Taken from friendly countries. It is easier for us to pay it.

#dailynews #pakistannews

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