Disasters are bane of development in Uttarakhand

Disasters are bane of development in Uttarakhand

Shishir Prashant

Disasters like Silkyara tunnel can be prevented if the government and implementing agencies adopt sustainable development methods, experts said.

Even on the Rs 12000 crore Chardham all weather highway project, the experts are unhappy with the road widening methods. “These all weather roads are disasters for Uttarakhand mainly due to the wrong road widening techniques. The river valley alignment cannot be considered as safe. When you disturb the slopes the landslides are imminent,” said Harshpati Unniyal, former adviser to the state planning commission. The rock strata towards rivers are very unstable in the Himalayas but if you go on a certain height, you will find it stable. This you have to take into consideration while constructing roads,” said Unniyal.

In his resignation letter last year, top environmentalist Ravi Chopra, the chairman of the High powered committee (HPC) on the Chardham pariyojna stated that he had closely seen the desecration of the once impregnable Himalayas.  “I have seen engineers armed with modern technological weapons assaulting the Himalayas. They have slashed through pristine forests, wounding vulnerable Himalayan belt,” he said.

Dr S P Sati, a senior geologist with HNB Garhwal University said these disasters are occurring mainly due to human interference in the form of unplanned and haphazard infrastructure developments in the hills.

Disasters are not new not new In the first decade after the Uttarakhand state was formed in the year 2000, the incidents of natural disasters used to be very less which can even be counted on the fingers of one hand. In one such incident in 2002, 36 people were killed in a cloudburst in Ghansali area of Tehri district. In 2003, landslides triggered from the top of Varunavrat Mountain caused heavy destruction in Uttarakashi town.

But after the year 2010, the frequency of natural disasters started getting bigger. And then came the 2013 Kedarnath deluge, the mother of all disasters in the state that left a trail of unprecedented deaths and destructions in the state. Big or small, the disasters are still continuing unabated.

The Uttarakhand hills are known for their breath-taking beauty and diverse eco system. But the natural disasters have rendered the hills vulnerable to disasters during the every monsoon season. But when the winter comes, there is a relative calm.

In the monsoon spell this year, heavy rains have wreaked havoc in the hill state causing widespread floods, landslides, land subsidence and inundating vast areas that kept the state administration on the tenterhook.

Deep cracks have appeared on several stretches of national highways leading to Badrinath and Kedarnath shrines. Even in heavy rains, the tourists kept coming to the state. Naturally, when thousands of tourists/pilgrims throng different areas especially during the monsoon season on daily basis, the problem exacerbates in form of excessive waste generation, water scarcity, traffic congestion and vehicular pollution.

A landslide-zone map brought by ISRO has declared Rudraprayag district where Kedarnath shrine is located as highly prone to disasters. But the government has not taken any steps to mitigate them.

Even when it comes to taking long term measures, the Dhami government is not seen in any action mode. For example, when the land subsidence issue came to the fore in Joshimath early January, a section of residents in this religious town had expressed concern over the ripple effects of NTPC’s 520 Mw Tapovan Vishnugaad hyel project alleging a head-race underground tunnel near the highly seismic and fragile town have caused wide-spread cracks in the town.  The government has not taken any decision on the Tapovan Vishnugaad project. This is despite the fact that a series of inquiries were ordered against this project since 2010 on the issues of land subsidence and excessive water discharge. As of now, the issue of Tapovan Vishnugad is not on the top of the agenda of the government.  NTPC has already launched a campaign saying its 12 kms long underground tunnel has played no role in the land subsidence. But various reports of the committees of scientists set up by the government to look into the matter were not made public apparently under the pressure of the powers that be. All the scientific institutions like Geological Survey of India (GSI) have been asked not to speak on these issues.

Land subsidence issue is not alone in Joshimath. The torrential rains this season triggered land subsidence at number of places in Dehradun, Chamoli and Pauri districts. Water was seen oozing out of floors in several houses of Rishikesh. Jakhan village in Dehraudun district witnessed land subsidence due to which all its inhabitants were uprooted.

Last but not least Joshimath too witnessed fresh incidents of land subsidence since early August.

Make no mistake; the people in general suffered the most from the fury of these natural disasters. So far, nearly 85 people have been killed and scores of others were rendered homeless in the fresh disasters in the monsoon season. Nearly 60 people were also killed in different road accidents which were mainly occurred due to bad road conditions and heavy rains.

Besides climate change there are various other important factors which are leading to these disasters.  These disasters are occurring mainly due to human interference in form of unplanned and haphazard infrastructure developments in the hills. For example, the muck disposal in rivers is also contributing to floods. Geologists also say the unplanned infrastructure, lack of adequate drainage and excavation of roads through unstable debris slopes accelerate the slope instability and land subsidence in the hills.

There had been incidents in the state where thousands of trees were felled in the name of development or illegally for wooden sleepers. In a couple of recent incidents, smugglers colluding with forest officials felled thousands of trees in Chakrata area in Dehradun district. The rampant cutting of trees is also causing environmental degradation in the state. Ends