In this time of information revolution more than a decade after creation of Uttarakhand State, people living in the border areas of Pithoragarh and Uttarkashi districts are forced to use mobile phone services provided by neighbouring nation Nepal and neighbouring State Himachal Pradesh respectively. The damage wreaked by the June 2013 disaster in Uttarakhand that was exacerbated by hydro power projects is yet to be repaired properly yet. These and other ground realities about the State, its environment and life of its people were revealed by participants of the 45-day long fifth Askot-Arakot Abhiyan who addressed the media in Dehradun on Wednesday after completing the journey from one tip of the State to another.
Writer and founder of People's Association for Himalaya Area Research (PAHAR) Dr Shekhar Pathak who coordinated the Askot-Arakot campaign trek said that the journey passed through more than 350 villages in seven districts of the State. "We crossed 36 rivers during our journey and barring a few rivers not fed by glaciers, most had wreaked havoc last year. In many places, we saw that hydro power projects and developmental works had exacerbated the damage wreaked by the disaster. Our team members studied the scenario from various viewpoints including socio-economy, disaster,history, substance abuse, education and the role of women," he added.
Senior journalist Kamal Joshi said that residents of the border area of Dharchula in Pithoragarh use mobile phone services provided by Nepal because no Indian mobile phone network is accessible in this area. In the regions of Uttarkashi district bordering Himachal Pradesh, those using mobile phones pay roaming charges for using mobile services provided from the neighbouring state. "In Dharchula and Joshimath, we found that most of the youth had gone to harvest Yarsa Gumba which fetches a handsome price, but the Government has not yet implemented an effective system to regularise this trade and benefit the locals," he said.
SB Joshi said that alcoholism has caused considerable damage to Uttarakhand even though the women have continued to struggle against liquor. "Apart from alcoholism, we found anomalies like in the Ravain valley where agriculture is thriving and the land is fertile yet the farmers have to buy seeds," he said.
Shruti Jain, pursuing her PhD from JNU said that rivers in Uttarakhand were being destroyed by dams while scientist Akhil Jairam said that organic agriculture is thriving in the remote villages but people in other areas purchase their food grains from the market. "The State has not capitalised on organic farming and no measures have been taken to conserve the rich seed diversity in Uttarakhand," he added. Deepak Kumar from Jamia Millia Islamia University said that in some parts of the State the native languages and culture are disappearing while latest pop music is in vogue.
The Askot Arakot Abhiyan began is 1974 and is undertaken once every 10 years.