Uttarakhand Floods Information
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LATEST NEWS FROM UTTRAKHAND
Environmentalists say the disaster in Uttarakhand was inevitable due to
rampant construction, felling of trees and building of dams in the name
of development. They warn it will continue if the state doesn't change
tack.
The Uttarakhand government’s failure to check indiscriminate
construction in the ecologically sensitive upper Himalayas is to blame
for the widespread devastation in the state, say environmentalists. And
if things continue, there will be worse to come.
“Uttarakhand gets high intensity rainfall and is prone to landslides. It also falls in a zone of high seismic activity. Against this backdrop, large hydroelectric projects increase the risk of disaster manifold as they involve the construction of dams, long tunnels, and roads, all of which require the blasting of hills,” Himanshu Thakkar, of the South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People, told dna.
Illegal mining of stones from the riverbed using excavators is rampant. On paper, excavators aren’t allowed. Only chugaan or manual picking is permitted. But government data itself says there are around 4,640 cases of illegal mining in the state and over Rs 100 crore has been collected in fines from illegal miners.
“This will continue if the central and state governments don’t stop the rush to clear projects,” noted environmentalist GD Agrawal told dna. Since 2008, this octogenarian has undertaken many fasts to draw attention to the plight of the Ganga. One such fast was instrumental in the scrapping of three major hydropower projects. Last week, Agarwal embarked on another indefinite fast in Hardwar to demand the scrapping of over 60 proposed and under construction hydropower projects.
“Teerthyatra has become tourism and has had a devastating effect on the ecology. Due to rapid deforestation, trees can no longer absorb rainfall,” says Rajinder Singh, well-known environmentalist and member of the Inter Ministerial Group on Upper Ganga basin hydropower projects. Construction on rivers in the area spells doom, said Singh. Last year, Uttarakhand banned Singh from entering the state after he protested against under-construction dams.
Activists say despite the many floods, landslides and cloudbursts in recent years, nobody has learnt any lessons. “After the Uttarkashi flash floods of 2012, the local administration prepared a report that recommended the removal of illegally constructed structures on the riverbed and flood plains. But the report did not see the light of day,” Thakkar said.
Over 505 dams, part of 244 hydroelectric projects, have been proposed
or are being built on the Ganga and its tributaries — Mandakini,
Bhagirathi and Alaknanda — in Uttarakhand. A further 45 are already
running. The Char Dham area (the pilgrimage circuit of Kedarnath,
Badrinath, Gangotri and Yamunotri), that’s the most affected by the
recent floods and landslides alone has around 70 dams.
“Uttarakhand gets high intensity rainfall and is prone to landslides. It also falls in a zone of high seismic activity. Against this backdrop, large hydroelectric projects increase the risk of disaster manifold as they involve the construction of dams, long tunnels, and roads, all of which require the blasting of hills,” Himanshu Thakkar, of the South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People, told dna.
Activists say that 95 per cent of the dams were built after 2000, when
Uttarakhand was formed. They rue that the state’s political leaders
think that tourism and dams are the only way to development.
Untreated sewage flowing into the river is another problem. It pollutes
the river, causing the riverbed to rise, leading to floods upstream and
flash floods downstream.
Illegal mining of stones from the riverbed using excavators is rampant. On paper, excavators aren’t allowed. Only chugaan or manual picking is permitted. But government data itself says there are around 4,640 cases of illegal mining in the state and over Rs 100 crore has been collected in fines from illegal miners.
“This will continue if the central and state governments don’t stop the rush to clear projects,” noted environmentalist GD Agrawal told dna. Since 2008, this octogenarian has undertaken many fasts to draw attention to the plight of the Ganga. One such fast was instrumental in the scrapping of three major hydropower projects. Last week, Agarwal embarked on another indefinite fast in Hardwar to demand the scrapping of over 60 proposed and under construction hydropower projects.
“Teerthyatra has become tourism and has had a devastating effect on the ecology. Due to rapid deforestation, trees can no longer absorb rainfall,” says Rajinder Singh, well-known environmentalist and member of the Inter Ministerial Group on Upper Ganga basin hydropower projects. Construction on rivers in the area spells doom, said Singh. Last year, Uttarakhand banned Singh from entering the state after he protested against under-construction dams.
Singh alleges the central government is also to blame for its silence.
In the last four years, the National Ganga River Basin Authority
(NGRBA), headed by the prime minister, has only met thrice. The last
meeting was in April 2012.
The rapid increase in tourism, especially between April and November,
is another cause for alarm (see box). The construction of lodges and
other tourism infrastructure is completely unregulated. During this
recent disaster many of these lodges and other buildings were heavily
damaged or washed away.
Activists say despite the many floods, landslides and cloudbursts in recent years, nobody has learnt any lessons. “After the Uttarkashi flash floods of 2012, the local administration prepared a report that recommended the removal of illegally constructed structures on the riverbed and flood plains. But the report did not see the light of day,” Thakkar said.
Mallika Bhanot of Ganga Ahvaan, a local NGO, made the same point.
“Rampant construction in the upper reaches of the Ganga is not in line
with the topography of the region. There’ve been many instances in the
past pointing to the dangers of such construction,” said Bhanot.
DISASTER IN UTTRAKHAND
The worst natural disaster in the country this year has reached its
tenth day and looks like the worst is not over yet. Uttarakhand still
lies wounded from the devastating floods and landslides that took
several lives and left thousands stranded.
Adding to the calamity, an IAF chopper crashes in Dehradun taking 19
lives. There were 20 people on board the MI-17 V-5 helicopter, including
nine National Disaster Response Force personnel and six Indo-Tibetan
Border Police Force jawans.
RESCUE I UTTRAKHAND
According to the IAF, the helicopter made a stop at Gauchar while
returning from Kedarnath. It took off from Gauchar at 2.30pm, but went
missing for three hours thereafter. Around 6pm, it was discovered that
the helicopter had crashed north of Gaurikund. This is the second such
incident in a week in Uttarakhand after a private helicopter carrying
relief material in Rudraprayag crashed near Gaurikund on Sunday, leaving
the pilot injured.
The entire country suffered a huge loss as pilgrims from all over were
visiting the worst affected Badrinath and Kedarnath areas
Many organisational bodies have travelled to Uttarakhand to evacuate
and help the victims. Their courageous and brave efforts are commendable
and applauded.
The Indian Armed Forces (IAF) has put to use some of the best military
skill-sets to great effect in the flash-flood affected zones of
Uttarakhand and rescued hundreds of fatigued and exhausted stranded
tourists almost seven days after the tragedy struck the Kedar Valley.
The state's disaster management and mitigation minister Yashpal Arya
Uttarakhand denied reports that quoted him as saying that he feared the
toll was nearly 5,000. “The enormity of disaster is so big that the toll
could be more than the present figure. However, the picture is likely
to be more clear in the coming days” he said.
Developments on this big story:
* According to reports,
an estimated 4000 people are still stranded at Badrinath where there is
no road connectivity due to recent landslides. Nearly 1000 people need
to be evacuated in Harsil. The security personnel involved in the rescue
mission aim to airlift all those stranded in these two towns to safer
places so that they can be given proper medical care, food and water.
* An overcast sky and low visibility at places today did not come in
the way of air rescue operations, even though a thin veil of early
morning fog briefly delayed flight of choppers from Sahasradhara helipad
and Jollygrant airport. A Pawan Hans pilot engaged in relief and rescue
operations in Gauchar said the weather is okay in Uttarkashi with no
major hindrance to air rescue operations.
* As cremation of decaying bodies recovered from Kedarnath could not be
done yesterday due to bad weather, police are trying to ensure that the
process begins today in view of threat of outbreak of an epidemic
looming large, officials said.
* Air Chief Marshal Browne, who was speaking to media after visiting
the site of yesterday's IAF chopper crash, said: " I think 3 to 4 days
more till the weather clears out and the operation is complete.
* IAF Chief NAK Browne who visited the site of a chopper crash said
that most of the evacuation work has been completed, adding that they
would continue with rescue work once the weather allowed them a window
of opportunity. Speaking about the chopper crash that took place on
Tuesday evening Browne said, “What exactly happened we will know only
once we recover MI17 voice data recorder. We have sent commandos to the
crash site. We have recovered recording devices and only analysis will
reveal the cause of the crash.” However Browne was also quick to say
that the IAF was not going anywhere. “Morale is still very high…Our
rotors will not stop churning”, he said. The Air Chief also said that 20
people had been killed in the crash.
* Rescue operations continue to be severely affected by bad weather as
torrential rains show no sign of letting up. Air rescue operations have
been grounded in most areas and while ground operations are continuing.
* “There are so many bodies across the Kedarnath valley that it is not
surprising that their decay is causing contamination of water. It needs
to be contained now or we could have a bigger problem at hand,” an ITBP
official said told a leading newspaper.
* Floods affected areas in Uttarakhand are facing the threat of a
spreading epidemic. According to a report, the past 3 days more than 300
villagers from villages of Rampur, Sitapur and Sonprayag have reported
sick with similar symptoms such diarrhoea, fever, dysentery etc.
* According to Captain Ajay Srivastava, another pilot flying on the
same route, the MI17 that crashed had flown from dehradun with their
helicopter in the morning. He told CNN-IBN, “The incident happened at 1 or 2 pm around Guptkashi, and got confirmed at 4 pm. The weather is very bad.”
* The IAF lost one Mi-17 V5 helicopter in a crash during the rescue
operations in Gaurikund in which 19 persons, including officers of the
Air Force, were feared killed.
* Rescuers on Tuesday evacuated 2,403 pilgrims stranded in the
mountainous regions of flood-hit Uttarakhand even as 19 persons,
including IAF and paramilitary personnel, were feared killed in a
chopper crash near Gaurikund.
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