Cloud bursts are normal, especially along the windward side of mountains, but the damage they are causing is unprecedented. From Uttarakhand to sikkim rains have ravaged villages and entire slopes.
The dictum goes that water rarely forgets its path and home, problem arises when you stand in its path. Occupying dried falls, and encroaching on rivulets, means inviting the torrential stream into our villages. Cutting through the slopes for ever increasing vehicular traffic means helping the water to turn into mud, and mudslides. The devastation just magnifies. The hapless people caught in today’s horrific floods in Dharali, Uttarkashi, had only seconds before they and their world were swept away. The rescue teams may move the survivors, but the fragile habitat is gone. Hotels and resorts, bang on the valley, slopes turned to prime real estate, without any concern for the environment. The 2013 mandakini burst had killed in thousands. There were visuals of 7 storied erections being swept away in seconds. But everything is unlearned in greed. It’s time, we respect the fragile ecosystem of the Himalayas and refrain from commodification of nature, faith and people. The Himalayas are also among the most vulnerable seismic zones. Water may not be the only danger.
Unheeded and forgotten warnings
