Environmentalists and scientists have said that rampant unplanned construction on the banks of rivers and the large number of big hydro-power projects constructed or under construction in Uttarakhand had exacerbated the damage caused by the disaster in June.
They said this at the conclusion of a two-day national seminar on Himalaya Bachao Abhiyan in the meeting hall of Garhwal Central University Srinagar on Sunday. In the seminar the invited specialists expressed their views regarding the conservation of environment and said that the pollution, encroachment and unplanned construction have destroyed the culture of the Uttarakhand state and severely damaged its environment.
Recipient of Magsaysay award, Rajendra Singh said that the culture of Uttarakhand has been the base of the nation, but this has deteriorated and the encroachment, pollution of environment and indiscriminate exploitation has damaged the culture of the State. “Removing such evils should be of primary importance while an effective policy should be implemented by the authorities to revive the flow of the rivers,” he said.
Noted environmentalist Chandi Prasad Bhatt said that the frequent use of explosives has damaged the environment, as well as the safety of the mountain in Uttarakhand. “The Government should take strict action against those violating the environmental laws. The environment and rivers of Uttarakhand have been abused by Governments allowing construction of many large hydro power projects in spite of the sensitive nature of the mountains,” he said while adding that before taking any decision on approval of any hydro power project, the local residents, environmentalist and scientists should be consulted.
Professor JP Pachori stressed that the development should be such that the environment should not be damaged and the development should also benefit future generations. The locals should be involved in environmental conservation, he added. Social worker Vivekananda from Maharashtra said that herbs of the hilly areas of Uttarakhand have been sold for long across the nation and abroad but the local residents have not benefitted from this. Ram Krishna Mukerjee of Technology and Research Network, Ahmedabad based NGO National Centre for Peoples’ action in Disaster Preparedness joint director Rajendra Desai, Shekhar Pathak also gave their suggestion for focus on the movement to save the Himalayas from disaster.