The recent natural disaster in Dharali village in Uttarkashi district of
Uttarakhand is another serious warning, a warning that tells us that the
Himalayan mountains have now reached the limit of their balance. The flash
flood that came after a cloudburst in the upper region of the Kheerganga river
swept away everything that came in its way. The scenes of houses, vehicles,
debris and trees floating away with the flood are heart-wrenching.
The Char Dham Yatra was at its peak at the time of the incident and this
area is an important stop for the pilgrims as it falls on the Gangotri route.
In such a situation, the possibility of huge loss of life and property
increased further. This is not the first incident, Uttarakhand has been the
center of such outbreaks repeatedly in the last decade, and every time the
question arises that will this pace of tampering with the mountains stop?
The geographical and ecological structure of Uttarakhand is extremely
sensitive. This state falls in seismic zone four and five, where the risk of
incidents like earthquake, landslide, cloudburst, avalanche and flood is
naturally high, but in the past years, man-made pressure has accelerated the
pace of turning this natural sensitivity into a disaster. Everyone knows the
Kedarnath tragedy of 2013, the flood caused by continuous rain, cloudburst
and the bursting of the glacier lake devastated the entire valley. Thousands of
people lost their lives and settlements were buried under the rubble.
No one has forgotten the 2021, Chamoli disaster. The breaking of the glacier
near the Nanda Devi National Park caused a sudden flood in the Dhauliganga
river. Many structures including the Tapovan Vishnugad Hydroelectric Project
were destroyed and hundreds of workers were killed. At the same time, in 2023, a landslide incident occurred in Joshimath, in
which the movement inside the earth and uncontrolled construction filled the
entire town with cracks, leaving hundreds of families homeless. Now in 2025, the Uttarkashi-Dharali flash flood incident is
the latest chapter in a series that shows that both mountains and humans are
paying the price for not learning.
Cloudbursts in the Himalayas are a natural phenomenon, it occurs when
moisture in the atmosphere suddenly pours down in excessive quantities over a
small area. But the problem becomes acute when the natural routes of water flow
are blocked. In Uttarakhand, over the last 20 years, power projects, roads, hotels, parking lots
and residential colonies have encroached upon the banks of rivers and streams.
The routes through which floodwater once flowed out are now covered with
concrete walls. This is exactly like turning off the whistle of a pressure
cooker—the result is an explosion.
Tourists visiting in millions every year, population pressure,
deforestation, decreasing greenery, uncontrolled vehicles and pollution, all
these together have weakened the natural water holding capacity of the
mountains, and the impact of climate change has further intensified it.
The debate on the direction of development in Uttarakhand is not new. In 1976, a committee constituted under the chairmanship of
M.C. Mishra, the then Commissioner of Garhwal, submitted a report on the
sensitivity of the Joshimath area. It clearly recommended that new construction
in the sensitive zone be stopped immediately, large-scale afforestation should
be done to increase greenery, and measures should be taken to maintain drainage
and slope stability. Today, 49 years later, the same report seems to be
applicable to the whole of Uttarakhand, but the sad thing is that even after
half a century has passed, neither the construction has stopped, nor the
greenery has increased—in fact, the situation has become worse.
Dozens of hydro power projects running in the name of power generation in
Uttarakhand have laid a network of tunnels inside the mountains. Cutting and
blasting rocks destabilizes the slopes, blocking the flow of rivers disturbs
the balance of sediment, the debris generated from construction is often thrown
into the rivers, which becomes a deadly weapon during floods. Scientists
believe that large power projects above 3000 meters are extremely dangerous for the
environment, but this work is being done continuously due to greed for economic
benefits.
Tourism provides a big support to the economy of Uttarakhand, but when the
population of a small hill town increases tenfold in a season, the roads,
sewage, water and garbage management completely collapse. Hundreds of hotels and dhabas have come up on the Chardham Yatra route
without environmental permission. Vehicle pollution and noise pollution, both
together are harming not only the ecology but also the local lifestyle.
Development in India's hill states is often defined by a plains-like
mindset of wide roads, tall buildings, and big dams, but this model is suicidal
for the fragile geography of the Himalayas. What is needed is a development
model that takes into account seismic and climate sensitivity, puts minimum
pressure on the local ecology, promotes small-scale, decentralised power and
water projects, and makes tourism controlled and sustainable.
The way forward for Uttarakhand and other Himalayan states is difficult but
clear: construction should be completely stopped in areas where the risk of
landslides and floods is high, natural waterways should be kept completely
open, afforestation and deep-rooted plants should be planted on hill slopes to
strengthen the soil, the number of tourists visiting at one time should be
limited, a permit system should be implemented, buildings should be constructed
using traditional hill designs and local materials.
Dharali, Joshimath, Chamoli and Kedar Valley, these are not just
geographical names, but are testimony to the failures of our development model.
If we do not learn our lessons even now, the next disaster is just waiting to
happen. The tragedy of Uttarakhand is not just about the mountains, it is a
reflection of India's environmental consciousness. The Himalayas give us water,
oxygen, rivers and biodiversity. In return we are giving them explosions,
concrete and crowds.
Now is the time to understand the limits of the mountains' patience and
redefine development, a development that is with nature, not against it.
Otherwise, in the next flash flood we will lose not just the valleys but also
our sensitivity and wisdom.
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