Saamana editorial targets Maha govt over response to Marathwada tremors

Mumbai, July 11 (IANS) Amid a series of earthquakes in the Marathwada region, Shiv Sena (UBT) on Saturday launched a sharp attack on the Maharashtra government, accusing it of prioritising publicity exercises in Mumbai while ignoring growing seismic concerns in parts of the state.

The criticism came through an editorial in the party mouthpiece Saamana, which alleged administrative apathy towards repeated tremors reported in Hingoli, Parbhani and Nanded districts.

The Thackeray camp contrasted the government’s high-decibel public relations exercise during the Mumbai rains with its complete silence on the seismic threats looming over rural Maharashtra. “Mr. Show-Off, do you even understand? An earthquake has hit Marathwada!” the editorial taunted, aiming squarely at the Chief Minister and his Disaster Management Minister.

The editorial heavily criticised the ruling dispensation for prioritizing media spotlight over genuine crisis management. It claimed that while heavy rains lashed Mumbai, the Disaster Management Minister and the Chief Minister rushed to the emergency war room solely for a “photo-op” and a “public relations show”.

In stark contrast, the administration remains “completely unfazed and indifferent” to the tremors gripping Marathwada, where four consecutive tremors rattled Hingoli, Parbhani, and Nanded districts in the early hours of Thursday, July 9, it said.

The editorial noted that the tremors were powerful enough to be felt across a massive geographic expanse stretching 200 to 300 km — reaching as far as Bidar in Karnataka, and Adilabad and Nizamabad in Telangana. For the people of Marathwada, the ground shaking is not a minor event — it is a deeply traumatizing trigger.

The Thackeray camp pointed out that the region has still not healed from the horrific wounds of the catastrophic September 30, 1993, Latur-Killari earthquake, which wiped out an entire generation and stands as one of the worst seismic disasters in independent India’s history.

The editorial also highlighted a grim, symbolic collapse following the latest tremors. Shortly after the ground shook on July 9, a bridge on the National Highway in Nanded’s Vishnupuri area collapsed. It noted that the bridge had been built on a “foundation of sheer corruption,” exposing how the “ruthless human hand” of the current administration is compounding the wrath of nature.

Drawing a sharp line between political theater and real-world disaster, the editorial delivered a scathing commentary on the state’s political climate. “The public wasn’t shocked at all when Shiv Sena MPs from Parbhani, Hingoli, and Dharashiv allegedly sold themselves out for Rs 50 crore each — political betrayal has ceased to surprise anyone. However, the shock of subterranean lava fracturing the earth, destroying homes, and bulldozing human lives is entirely different. While the July 9 tremors may seem mild today, they are a stark warning of tomorrow’s catastrophe,’’ it remarked.

The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena warned that the geographical and geological reality of Maharashtra is shifting dangerously. Regions that were once classified as stable, non-seismic zones have now transitioned into highly earthquake-prone areas. Tectonic activity is rapidly escalating not just in Marathwada and Vidarbha, but also in Western Maharashtra’s Koyna region, and across a 300 km radius, covering Thane, Shahapur, and Palghar.

Blaming the “Fadnavis-led government” for letting the state’s disaster management system lie completely dormant, the editorial concluded with a fierce warning, ‘’No one knows what lies hidden in the womb of the earth or what the future holds. However, the continuous chain of earthquakes in Marathwada should serve as a massive wake-up call for the government and the administration to shake off their complacency before the destruction occurs.”

–IANS

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