As nature wreaks havoc and causes widespread destruction, it is only apt to think about reconstruction. At this point of time, Wayanad is still reeling under the devastation, but reconstruction efforts and planning should be in the thoughts of many.
We should think about how to rehabilitate people who have lost everything. The government should have a clear policy outlook on how that process should roll on.
People should witness their homes, which are envisaged to provide shelter, being uprooted and lives being lost in ecologically fragile regions like Wayanad.
The inhabitants of Wayanad now need homes which are not a burden on the earth. Not only Wayanad, ecologically fragile regions all over Kerala should have such homes and there should be guidelines in place to build homes in such places. By including technical experts, a committee can be formed for this purpose.
The guidelines should not just rust in theory but should be implemented without fail. Prefab homes or prefabricated homes come into play in this context.
Prefab homes are dwellings constructed using components that are assembled on-site. Unlike traditional homes that are constructed entirely from scratch, components of prefab homes are manufactured in a factory shifted to their locations. Prefabricated homes include modular homes, mobile homes, container homes, kit homes, and accessory dwelling units (ADUs).
The prefab homes do not create as much destruction even if they are uprooted and would cause lesser harm. They can be again assembled and used to reconstruct also. Many places in Kerala are already using prefab homes and its use should be expanded widely.
The practice of making huge dent on earth and engraving black stones on these should end. Such house construction should be disincentivised as it would discourage the widespread use of black stones. This would ensure that the deep scars are not made on earth unnecessarily. Hosing should be disallowed in high-risk zones prone to ecological disasters.
In fact no construction should be allowed in such regions. More plants should be grown in these ecologically sensitive places, which would make the soil more firm.
What next
If this is implemented, where would we build houses? Places suitable for habitation should be identified and taken over by the government. After that the technical committee should decide how houses should be constructed. The question that arises in such a scenario is whether the governments are entitled to decide the area and nature of the houses. The answer is a resounding yes– in modern developed nations, this is the norm.
Homes should not be constructed to flaunt the likes of individuals as show pieces. The construct that an individual who has money is entitled to build a home according to his whims and fancies disregarding the fragile ecosystem should end, especially in such eco sensitive regions.
The government should also oversee the materials used for the construction from foundation to the roof structure. This should be seen in the context of concrete roofings of homes blocking the rescue efforts in places like Wayanad. The massive concrete structures are difficult to dismantle in such scenarios thereby hampering rescue efforts.
The roof of an area of 1000 square feet would weigh approximately 30,000 kilograms. It is a difficult or almost improbable task to rescue those trapped under such debris. That would take huge efforts and it would be time consuming also. This consideration alone should prompt us to have roofs with comparatively lesser weight for our homes. The roofs should also have the capability to withstand storms apart from weighing less.
A rethink is also needed in the construction of walls. As the weight of the roofs come down, the walls can also be constructed with lesser thickness. This would automatically mean the depth of the foundation will also be lesser.
Instead of making huge dents on earth, the pillars can be erected from ground level. The construction should be in such a way that the these pillars would be able to hold the weight of the entire structure.
Such houses will be able to withstand the flooding and small landslides. The huge concrete walls around homes in ecologically fragile areas should be banned.
Instead, bio fencing using plants and bamboo should be deployed. It is high time that the government should put in place such an eco-friendly, holistic and scientific construction policy. For this, as per the nature of the terrain, Kerala should be divided into different zones. Each zone should have a construction policy in place. To implement these policies, people’s committees should be entrusted with the task of monitoring construction activities.
The line of thought should now digress from the motto of “my money, my land, my construction” to the realisation that any small tweak to nature will have major implications in the entire region. The lesson Wayanad offers should be this vis-a-vis construction activities.
Also the lessons learned here and the practical solutions evolving thus should not be confined to Wayanad alone. In other eco sensitive places also such natural disasters have been accentuated by human follies. Just because Wayand is now a major news development we should not ignore the larger picture.
From now on, Kerala is prone to frequent natural disasters of such magnitude. But we should put in all out efforts to restrict the impact of such catastrophes to the minimum. Natural calamities remind us that man is a small fry compared to the immense power of nature; our mammoth constructions can be swept away in no time if nature unleashes its fury.
Our homes should not be built on structures that would cause us misery. We should adapt to a vision in which mankind is in sync with the seamless flow of nature.
