Preserve nature at its pristine best

Thetruescaleofthedisaster ( The Big Story, July 7) was interesting and depicted the states that are vulnerable to natural disasters like floods, droughts, cyclones, etc. India is ill-prepared to face any disaster and while the Centre needs to set up a separate fund to meet such challenges, the states should set up their own disaster management teams. Weather patterns are not always predictable. However, if we have contingency plans in place we can minimise the human loss. For this to happen, we should have the latest technology and should learn from countries that face similar situations annually, like the US, Australia, etc. It is essential that we formulate, and more importantly implement, plans to preserve nature at its pristine best. Environment-friendly audits should be mandatory for all companies and defaulters should be severely penalised.

Kamal Anil Kapadia, via email