One crude “art” mastered by our administrators and leaders of various sections is how and when to appease people agitating massively in the face of a grave situation. While most of their wiles and guiles are reserved for amassing votes in elections, annoyingly for them, many “minor” irksome matters encroach upon their precious time regularly — such as petty but “sensationalized” crimes like gang-rapes, mass killings, over-blown bank frauds and corruption by political figures, bureaucrats and so on and on and on….. These “poor” stalwarts! Such minor issues tax their time. Their lives (in case you don’t know) are indeed difficult! They have to stretch their VIP feet out of luxury vehicles and comfort zones, pose like co-sufferers with common people, pass orders to officials to “sort out the problems at once”, keep inaugurating (cutting ribbons, laying foundation stones) or attending meets and seminars… This is India, our India – especially after the British left us for their own good after designing the tragedy of Partition.

Every tragedy lays bare our dismal incompetence, lack of foresight and massive indifference and administrative cunning. First work out how to blame or counter- blame for a failure or a tragedy — and sleep over the issue but keep making very long term grandiose plans, and feed our lap-lap media with announcements, assurances etc described by an intellectual giant in politics as “election jumle”. Oh, the facts and figures? What else for do our parties feed and nurse their “intellectual cells”, think-tanks, media spies, and the over-ambitious duty-shirking worthies in our academic dens? Sickening.

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The acute crisis of water shortage that brought out the peace loving Himachali citizens to the streets with empty buckets demanding water supply is the picture of a nightmare. In many localities there was reportedly no supply for 10 to 15 days. Every dry tongue was crying for a drop of water, people were ready to do anything to get water – especially for their children. All these caught headlines amidst reports (right or wrong) of over-flowing tanks and regular supply to some influential worthies and localities. That the Mayor of Shimla (belonging to the ruling party) did not cancel her tour to China during the peak crisis and a water tanker knocked down an elderly lady to death on the Mall further fanned the people’s agitation. Among those whose efforts stood out were the acting Chief Justice of the Himachal High Court Sanjay Karol along with other judges and advocates who till early morning hours sat in the Control room etc, inspected records and monitored complaints. They also passed suitable orders for equitable distribution of water and stopped the special supply to VIP areas. Many voluntary organisations stepped in with tankers bringing water from Haryana, Punjab and other far off places for free distribution.

Prodded relentlessly by the Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur, the administrative staff “swung” (a bit late, though!) into action mode. Locals, rightly appealed to tourists to keep off Shimla to enable the citizens here to “survive”. While the whole city was burning, a citizen threatened self-immolation if the government failed to fulfill its promise of restoring water supply. International media like BBC, Washington Post and other leading channels and newspapers carried Shimla’s plight prominently.

The Congress in Opposition tried to fish in the troubled waters. So did the Left leaders who headed the city corporation in the last term. What had they done during their own tenures to solve this regular problem? Jairam Thakur has been in the saddle for only about five months! Instead of baying for his blood, they should have pitched in with all their resources and ideas to handle the immediate crisis. But these leaders only earned the public’s ridicule.

Except one, all other reasons for such a nightmarish situation were understandable – scanty snowfall this winter, inadequate rains for over a year were well known. Even so, why was the administration not ready with a contingency plan of action. Where are all those periodic disaster management workshops gone? Are they a joke? Just fooling the public? Successive governments must share the sin for this citizen’s torture. Over the last 35 years or so, the Congress and BJP “ruled” (the right word in place of “governed”) this beautiful Himalayan state for alternate terms. Every government made flowery announcements of projects for solving the problem of water supply “permanently”. All this remains a paper dream till now, and god forbid, forever!

Most politicians are obsessed with “transfer mania”. Transfer here, transfer there, and transfer nowhere! That’s all. Call it governance! And of course people are also equal partners in this malady. Even the lowest in the ladder wants a posting at an easy distance from home, his village. Also many transfers are served out as mere punishments for not carrying out wrong, brazen instructions of political worthies. But, call it governance, sir! Doesn’t matter, if the citizen spends the whole night tossing in the bed waiting for that tip, tip, tip sound of drops from the dry tap at midnight. Doesn’t matter, if he goes out hunting for a bucket of water the whole of next day.

For now, anyway, there appears to be some relief. When the rains set in, the public will forget all this – they have to get on with life. What about next summer? Ah! Dekha Jaiga! That’s the complacency among the upper rung citizens and leaders. They cite as examples the cases of brutal torture and murder of a small boy Yug Gupta (he was kidnapped for ransom, sunk in a water tank and tortured for a week and killed) a few years ago. Recently a school going girl was allegedly raped and murdered in the Kothkhai area. Both the cases had shocked the public and caused massive outrage in the form of mass processions in the state, and the popular candle light marches. Will the candles of anger, including the anger over this crisis of water shortage turn into a new feature in Himachal? Will this small peaceful state push the Centre into caring for their needs, despite accounting for only four seats in the Lok Sabha?