The lesson here is: Don’t abuse Nature
A week after several hundred people have lost their lives and thousands remain untraced in the disaster that hit Uttarakhand, the authorities are coming around to the view that they had grievously erred in ignoring the warning signals which were put out by official agencies and non-Governmental organisations. Perhaps, they had believed that the red flag was merely an instance of crying wolf. The devastation that has occurred will have disabused them of this notion. Besides effectively proceeding with the relief operations, the Government — both at the Centre and in the State — must at least now revamp the entire ‘development model' which they wrongly believe is in the interests of the people. The people definitely want development, but they do not want death and destruction alongside. Unfortunately, even now, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna is trying to play down the warnings on the pretext that not all of those were “specific”. Yet, 48 hours before disaster struck, on June 13, the Regional Meteorological Centre in Delhi forecast heavy rains across Uttarakhand. Over the next few days, the warnings kept coming, and even though they did not clarify the exact areas that would be affected, it was easy to see that the traditionally vulnerable places of Uttarkashi, Chamoli and Rudraprayag — all pilgrim hotspots at this time of the year — would be worst hit. Still, it was not until June 16 that the Uttarakhand Government issued a disaster warning. And even then, the pilgrimage was not stopped. The next day, as many as 12 bridges collapsed, leaving thousands stranded. Many of the people are yet to be rescued.
Also, long before the meteorological centre issued its warnings, the Comptroller and Auditor-General had advised against the rampant destruction of the Garhwal Himalayas. Three years ago, while assessing the environmental impact of proposed hydro-power plants — 42 are already in operation and more than 200 are in the pipeline — along the Bhagirathi and the Alakananda rivers, the CAG had said that the projects were weakening the mountains. The report also highlighted the perils of deforestation and the erosion of river beds. It pointed out that most projects had no plans for environmental protection; and even when there were provisions for conservation, such as planting a certain number of trees to offset the loss caused by construction, they were ignored. The CAG's warnings were repeated by the Wildlife Institute of India in its 2012 report, commissioned by the Government, to study the feasibility of 24 power projects in the region. Not only did the WII conclude that the projects must be scrapped, it also put out a slew of recommendations to maintain the fragile eco-system of the young Himalayas. But, just as the authorities had forgotten all about the National Mission for Sustaining the Himalayan Ecosystem launched in 2008, they also turned a deaf ear to the warnings from various quarters, cautioning against such disastrous ‘development'.
The only silver lining here is the way in which our Armed Forces have conducted successful rescue operations. The National Disaster Management Authority has also sought to lend a helping hand, but it has struggled to put together a comprehensive response; it’s an area that needs urgent attention.