The Nepali Congress (NC) and the Unified Marxist-Leninist (UML) have entered into a political wedlock by forming a coalition rather hastily at midnight. Whether this political hurry will result in a bad curry or otherwise is in the womb of the future. It has taken place amidst a widely accepted political practice that the two largest parties of the Parliament usually occupy a space to the right and left of the Parliament as the government and the opposition. This is one of the reasons why these two parties have followed this universal political acceptance except in some unusual circumstances like when hit by an earthquake or drafting a new constitution, the latter following the 1990 political movement and the election of the constituent assembly to prepare it. The political rivalry between the two is another reason.

What are the factors that have led to such an unusual state of affairs? The coalition partners have said that the country is drifting into deep political waters, such as a very vulnerable economy which can hit rock bottom anytime coupled by the flight of the youth abroad rendering the country to an old man's home. They have said that the constitution needs to be amended in order to bring the country back on the rails. For this, the coalition is seeking to bring as many political parties as possible into the fold in order to achieve the two-thirds majority required for the amendment of the constitution by forming a national government.

But there are many who opine that the new coalition is a by-product of the likelihood of being caught on corruption charges, which the Maoist Centre and the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) were planning. The RSP President and then Home Minister had already threatened to open the files that would land many political parties' supremos behind bars on more than one occasion.

Whatever the reality, what is however sure is that the coalition has a multi-headed chimera-like problem staring at its face. But the immediate one is the Herculean task of facing the landslides and floods, which have already played havoc in the country. Given that the country will receive more than 55 per cent of the normal rain this year, according to meteorologists, what has appeared so far is merely the tip of the iceberg. It is going to rain cats and dogs many times in the coming days, leading to massive landslides and floods around the country.

Disasters like landslides and floods pass through a circle of preparedness, response and rehabilitation. As the preparedness stage is over, the government should now face the response and rehabilitation stage. Had the government paid heed to the need of preparedness, the loss would not have been so gigantic as has been proved by the demise of so many people in the first month of the monsoon.

But the floods and landslides are not that invincible as they appear to be if the preparation is made properly. We often say that the river has entered the settlement. In fact, it is not true. It is the settlements that have entered the flood plains of the river. The construction of settlements within the flood plains has led to this sorry state of affairs. The flood plains have to be determined on the basis of flood return period of 10 or 50 years' period and so on.

Moreover, the construction of ponds in the hills right from the highlands or the ridge down to the midlands and lowlands on either side of the gullies will prevent the floods to a great extent. This is the reason why ponds had been constructed in the past in the valley, a few of which still exist along with others in the tarai, more prominently in Janakpur. It is against this backdrop that some 176 ponds have been constructed in Khotang and Mahottari districts by this columnist, which, however, could not be continued due to the nonchalance of the government

Similarly, landslides can also be prevented following very easy indigenous methods. These consist of diverting the rainfall from the landslide susceptible area to the existing gullies or streams by constructing a canal, which is also known as drainage. Similarly, crack filling in the upstream of the landslide vulnerable area will complement the whole landslide prevention process. These are also known as the Bhal Katne and Chapari Purne technology in local terminology. The employment of such a technology in Siranchok Municipality of Gorkha district has been successful.

To seek to prepare for the monsoon disasters now will be akin to digging a well after a building has caught fire. Hence, the government should now be focussed on disaster response. This consists of removing the debris as soon as the landslide falls on the roads blocking movement. The road department carries out this job but virtually at a snail's speed.

Injuries and deaths cannot be wished away following landslides or floods. But the injured have to be addressed in no time. Moreover, compensation to the kins of the dead have to be handed over straightaway. But this is very lengthy and highly bureaucratic in our country. Relief delayed is relief denied in the same way that justice delayed is justice denied. So, the new coalition should ensure that the administrative machinery moves fast unlike in the past when it has been marked by unnecessary delays.

The government has made a decision to pay to the injured and the dead within hours of its formation, which is very well indeed. But making decisions is one thing, making it available in no time is quite another. This is going to be an acid test of the government, in general, and the newly appointed Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak, in particular, in the days to come.