Nature strikes back in Uttarakhand By Priyadarshi Dutta on on June 19, 2013 niticentral/2013/06/19/nature-strikes-back-in-uttarakhand-91884.html Buildings collapsing like pack of cards in Uttarakhand spate makes a poignant view. According to the annual report of Ganga Flood Control Commission (2010-11), Uttarakhand was allocated a budget of Rs 280 crore, but ironically, the flood management plans ignored the issues of deforestation and environmental devastation. These are important factors in the recent flashfloods. These were not a ‘natural’ calamity but to a great extent, were a manmade disaster. The hydro-electricity projects on Ganga’s tributaries are major culprits. Their construction involves large-scale clearing of forests. Deforestation triggers soil erosion making the terrain vulnerable to landslides. The rampant blasting of the mountains, diversion of river, redirecting the river through tunnels (call Run of the River) are factors destabilising the fragile ecosystem of the Uttarakhand. The agitation against the hydel projects in Himalayas, planned by Kunwar Revati Raman Singh, MP, Allahabad at Haridwar on June 22-23 might become a casualty of the floods. Its cause, however, has been vindicated by this deluge. The construction of barrages and functioning of their hydel projects are running riot with the sensitive Himalayan environment. The flow of Ganga is shrinking in non-monsoon period. The dumping of muck on river bed is reducing the navigable depth. Shallow rivers are more volatile than the deeper ones. The dams release excess water leading to inundation. In other times, they promote denudation of the environment. The hydrograph of the Upper Ganga Segment between Gomukh and Haridwar (294 kilometers) have significantly altered due to commissioning of hydel projects. Some 82 kilometers of this 294-km stretch has been forced to flow through dark tunnels as run-of-the-river or converted into ponds of water. The stretch from Rishikesh to Gangotri presents a heart-wrenching picture. Ganga appears to be lying dead- filled with rotten dead bodies, hyacinth and rubbles in a 46-km long reservoir built for the Tehri Dam. The old Tehri town and its surrounding villages have got submerged. People have left their ancestral homes. Further ahead from Tehri to Uttarkashi unfolds a more dreadful scenario. For 30-km, the Ganga appears to have dried up. From Dharasu to Uttarkashi, there is no sight of Ganga as the entire river has been diverted into a 16-km long tunnel for Maneri Bhali-2 tunnel. Over the rest of 14-km, Ganga has been diverted to serve Maneri Bali I hydel project. If the Ganga were personified as she has been throughout the Hindu tradition, these development projects have inflicted perverse murderous assault on her body. It is ironical the same Government affirms ‘comprehensive measures for restoration of the wholesomeness of the Ganga system and improvement of its ecological health’ (Min of Environment & Forest Annual Report 2011-12 Pg.155). A consortium of the seven IITs have been pressed into service through a Memorandum of Agreement (July 6, 2010) to frame a comprehensive river basin management plan. The consortium has already submitted the first five reports and yet to submit another 17! After the deluge retreats, Uttarakhand will have to pick up the pieces. But it would leave behind a significant lesson that messing up with Himalaya’s eco-sensitive zone is fraught with dangers.
Posted on: Wed, 19 Jun 2013 07:38:07 +0000
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