Editorial
Cold spell
Poor preparedness makes things worse
At least nine people lost their lives in the northwestern region of the country in the last 48 hours, as the moderate cold wave turned unbearable to a vast majority of the population -- poorly clothed to face the chill.
The weather department has given a detailed account of how the cold wave, originating in the far-off frosty zones, is sweeping across certain parts of the sub-continent. We feel relieved to know that it will not last long.
The availability of information regarding the likely changes in weather pattern should have left us reasona-bly prepared for any inclemency of this kind. Reports from the districts do indicate that people have been caught unawares by the cold-spell. Poverty is no doubt one reason why they fail to protect themselves when the mercury drops sharply.
But there are other reasons also. The experience of 1998 has made it clear that a big chunk of the population is not prepared to face a cold wave, and some suggestions were put forward on possible ways of taking the sting out of it. The widely held view on the matter is that the ini-tiative for building a sound defensive shield against the onslaught of cold must come from the lowest level, that is, the wards and union parishads. But the victims of this year's cold spell do not appear to have been benefited by anything called community service.
The availability of warm clothes at an affordable price is still an unresolved question. We are yet to work out how the extremely vulnerable people in the remote areas can be helped when they are trapped in a cold wave.
The foggy weather, which invariably follows a sudden downward movement of the mercury, disrupts life in many ways. It has been reported that thousands of launches got stuck in the river Meghna owing to poor visibility. Travelling by roads has also become hazardous. One thing is pretty clear: the element of preparedness for an unkind winter is missing everywhere. We have to make amends for it on a double-quick basis now. That's the tragedy of planning for something after it has occurred.
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