Cyclones will be routine

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Cyclones will be routine

Tauktee cyclone wreaked havoc in Konkan and Mumbai as expected, claiming six lives and causing heavy financial damage in Maharashtra already grappling with Covid-19. The heavy rains caused by the Tauktae cyclone in Raigad, Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg, and Palghar districts unleashed a trail of devastation with many rooftops of houses displaced, people evacuated to safer places, and trees as well as electric poles uprooted leading to power outage. Now, the alarm system of cyclones is much improved and so state administrations get time well in advance to prepare to face cyclones or gales.  So, much damage can be averted and this happened in the case of Tauktee also.  Still, the damage is there exposing the helplessness of the human management system. Now, the cyclone has moved towards Gujrat with extraordinary speed but there is no room for the administration to heave a sigh of relief. The Indian navy has much larger challenge of saving the remaining people on the ONGC vessel PAPA which has drowned near Bombay High, due to the severe cyclone.  The navy has saved one hundred and forty-seven persons but still more than a hundred persons are missing. Storms come and bring with them a trail of devastation is bound to happen. But, a new revelation that scientists have unearthed and which can give sleepless nights to Mumbai residents is that, in near future, the centre of cyclones has moved to Arabian sea. Earlier, it was in the Bay of Bengal where there used to be cyclones frequently affecting mostly Kerala, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.  Now, the centre of this phenomenon is move towards the west shore, so the storms and gales, cyclones will be a normal routine in Maharashtra especially districts situated in coastal region including Mumbai. The reason is that the Arabian sea has warmed now and this warming is causing concentrating cyclones over its region. The culprit for this is not mother  nature, but the unholy nexus of builders, politicians, and corporators who have erected skyscrapers by pushing back the ocean. The greed of humans has brought this disaster on Mumbai because the  buildings at the shore will not allow the water to free flow and it will cause waterlogging in the city. The increase in temperature is caused by absence of environment. Our rulers sense of protecting the environment stops  only at blocking Metro car shade work at Arey colony. Beyond that, we do not know how to protect the ocean or to stop raising skyscrapers violating CRZ rules. All the cities like Mumbai, Palghar, Thane, Alibag, Murud are home to resorts of bigwigs built after violating every norm of environment and as they have influence in government, nobody can cause any harm to their constructions. On seashores at Alibag, Mandvi, Murud,  Nagaon and in Mumbai also, celebrities have constructed farmhouses while thwarting every norm. This has caused the warming of seawater which ultimately leading to routine cyclones. If this continues, by two thousand and fifty, they say, Mumbai will be half-drowned in seawater as the level of sea is increasing gradually.  We can’t sit idle to think that who will live up to 2050. We will have to take measures to stop mindless constructions causing our destruction at the end of the day.  Tauktae has warned a bell of danger. We should not be deaf to hear its ringtones. In near future, the destruction brought by cyclones will be more serious is another impact we are going to face.