Drain system seems to be working, but tougher test remains

CHENNAI: This may sound cynical or even a shade perverse, but the deluges, landslides and cyclonic storms that are increasingly visited upon us by the vagaries of climate change, while presenting incumbent governments with a humungous challenge, also offer them the singular opportunity to prove themselves afresh and renew and galvanise the confidence of the people in them.

There is, so to speak, a fair-weather-friend opportunity in foul weather, with the potential for handsome electoral dividends. A flood or cyclone, combatted vigorously and efficiently, could actually end up sweeping away the lapses, inefficiencies or vulnerabilities of a government on other fronts and become the supervening gamechanger, come election time. On the flipside, such efficient and dramatic calamity management can distract attention from, and detract from the legitimate appreciation of the systematic and sustained good work being done by a government towards a transformative change in the lives of the people.

What distinguishes the current Tami Nadu government’s exertion in this crucial area is that it proceeds in deliberate steps and calibrated policy terms beyond, or in addition to, the ad hoc measures to meet the sudden fury of cyclonic weather.