The prediction of a normal monsoon this year is supposed to bring cheers to a large section of the population that relies on rainfall for agriculture. But all will not be well if the monsoon brings plenty of rainfall. With thousands of earthquake survivors still living in temporary shelters in areas that are vulnerable to landslides, a normal monsoon prediction has heightened the risks for them. Experts warn that as there are cracks and fissures created by the quakes in the affected districts, water pouring into them increases the prospect of landslides. 

A geological survey conducted in the affected districts by the National Seismological Centre (NSC) right after the quakes had identified 193 villages in 33 districts to be in grave risk of landslides and suggested that the government relocate them. But neither has the government relocated these settlements, nor has it bothered to conduct more geological assessments in the quake-affected districts.

Such negligence is beyond comprehension. Given Nepal’s geography, geo-hazard assessment after the quake was imperative to identify areas prone to natural disasters like landslides, flooding and ground subsidence. The government’s reconstruction process has not begun in full swing yet, and many households in quake-affected districts have started to rebuild houses on their own. But letting people do so without a detailed assessment and mapping of geo-hazard areas is imprudent, as it raises risk significantly. Only last month, pre-monsoon rains triggered flash floods and landslides, leaving 12 people dead and at least four missing in the western hills.

Even when risks posed by a normal monsoon have been communicated since last year, government agencies and humanitarian actors seem to have done very little on the ground to assist those living in high-risk areas. Geoscience experts like Tanka Ojha, writing in these pages on June 27, 2015, had argued for the necessity of building adequate mapping capacity. Many others have called for relocating people living in high-risk areas. To this date, not much has been done to these ends even when it is pretty clear what needs to be done.

We find such inaction criminally negligent. Those responsible for not doing their jobs should be held responsible. Hundreds of lives are at stake here, and it is not enough to simply say that the government lacks the necessary technical expertise to conduct sophisticated geological assessments. Expertise can and should be acquired, if necessary from foreign professionals. We call on the prime minister to intervene and hold those sleeping on their jobs accountable. He should urgently mobilise government mechanisms for protecting people leading precarious lives from harm that is almost inevitable.