Editorial: Tinkering with fragile ecology

Tourism, which is central to Uttarakhand’s economy, has fuelled rampant, often unregulated construction across the State

The perils of interfering with the fragile Himalayan ecology have repeatedly manifested themselves in the most brutal of ways in India’s hill States. Yet, no lessons are learned and no course corrections are made. The latest tragedy in Uttarakhand, where massive flash floods triggered by a cloudburst swept away many houses and hotels, serves as a grim reminder of the region’s vulnerability to extreme and unpredictable weather events. At least four people have died and several more are missing, including soldiers from an army camp, after flash floods hit the Dharali area, which lies along the route to the Gangotri pilgrimage site. For decades, experts have been warning that without balancing development with ecological sustainability, the region would continue to face ecological disasters. The latest tragedy fits into a grim pattern of ecological disasters in Uttarakhand. This is not a one-off event. The Himalayan State has witnessed an alarming frequency of landslides, floods, cloudbursts, forest fires and even earthquakes in recent decades. However, unbridled construction activity to cater to the growing number of tourists continues to play havoc with the region. Tourism, which is central to Uttarakhand’s economy, has fuelled rampant, often unregulated construction across the State. Widening of roads under the Char Dham project has further destabilised the delicate terrain, leading to frequent landslides along these routes. Hill-cutting, deforestation, poor drainage systems, and riverbed encroachments have all contributed to the collapse of natural buffers that once protected the region from such frequent calamities. The devastating 2013 Kedarnath floods were the result of glacial lake outbursts in the region.

A 2016 report tabled in Parliament found that Uttarakhand has the highest number of unstable zones among the Himalayan States. It lies on the southern slopes of the mountain range, formed just a few million years ago through ongoing tectonic activity. This makes the region seismically active and geologically unstable. Tectonic thrusts, fault lines and plate collisions frequently trigger landslides and earthquakes. The 1991 Uttarkashi earthquake (6.8 magnitude), the 1999 Chamoli earthquake (6.8 magnitude), and the 2013 Kedarnath flash floods are some of the many major disasters that have hit the State in recent decades. Even as natural instability is built into the Himalayan terrain, scientists warn that climate change is worsening the risks. Uttarakhand is witnessing faster-than-average melting of glaciers, altering river flows and increasing the chances of glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs), flash floods and landslides. Global warming has also made cloudbursts more frequent and intense, increasing the likelihood of sudden, deadly deluges like the latest one. Unchecked human activity is dramatically amplifying the damage. In 2023 alone, more than 56 lakh people visited the region as part of the ‘Char Dham’ pilgrimage. Unsound mountain cutting, soil vulnerability, dumping of debris in rivers and unchecked illegal mining are contributory factors to this man-made devastation. Building large hydroelectric dams can also have a significant environmental impact.

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