Capital, courage, character and commitment are needed to address issues related to the environment, economy, existence and rehabilitation of Uttarakhand and its people affected in the recent disaster experienced in the State.
The disaster which struck Kedarnath and other places in the State should be viewed as a warning from nature and be used as a learning experience to decide the direction of development and environmental conservation in Uttarakhand. These views emerged at a programme on the way ahead for disaster-affected Uttarakhand organised by the Uttarakhand chapter of the Indian Media Centre.
Himalayan Environmental Studies and Conservation Organisation (HESCO) founder Anil Prakash Joshi said that people had forgotten their culture and had forgotten their elemental gods. “Across India, we have raped our rivers and lost our lands and forests because of our actions. Shrines like Badrinath and Kedarnath were not established by Adi Shankaracharya to abet tourism fed by a five-star culture. The Ministry of Environment and Forests is primarily focused on weather to allow or disallow construction of dams and mining in riverbeds, while those who raise environmental concerns are labeled ‘anti-development’ by avowed votaries of development. Policy makers stay and work in towns while those living in the resource rich mountainous regions live in deprivation which is bound to fuel public discontent,” he said.
Uttarakhand State Council of Science and Technology (UCOST) director general Dr Rajendra Dobhal said, “There is no inter-departmental coordination here and the laws have many provisions. More than 150 floods in different parts of Europe at different times caused hardly any deaths because implementation of integrated riverbasin management ensures that the basin of a river is not tampered with. There are about 2,000 villages above the main central thrust in Uttarakhand and relocation of these villages highly prone to disaster is vital,” he said, adding that the proposal for installing Doppler radars in Uttarakhand for improved weather monitoring has been pending in the Ministry of Defence for a year now.
Industries Association of Uttarakhand chairman Pankaj Gupta said that the Gandhian model of industry is suited to Uttarakhand as it has great potential for cottage industries. “There were at least 20,000 small eateries along the Char Dham Yatra route generating income for locals but the recent disaster has threatened the livelihood of more than 10 lakh persons. As the disaster has shaken the confidence of the people, there is need to redesign Uttarakhand after deciding how to rebuild agriculture, tourism and other sectors,” he said while stressing on the need for reform, citing reports of a 3-month old baby missing since the Kedarnath disaster. He questioned why had a three month old been taken on such an arduous journey.
ONGC, Corporate Communication head Madhulika Burman stressed on the need for focus on the affected persons, adding that the media should provide detailed coverage to the rehabilitation process. She spoke of the various disasters faced by ONGC and the consequent measures taken to prevent these.
IMC Uttarakhand chapter head Anoop Nautiyal stressed on the need for achieving something concrete from the meet in stead of restricting it to an academic formality.