living in the vicinity of rivers is a way of life for the people of Uttarakhand. Rivers flooded with cloudbursts earlier too led to devastation in human settlements as the mountain State is presently facing in different parts of Garhwal and Kumaon regions, but it has not deterred the hill people from maintaining their traditional bond with the rivers.
In different valleys of Uttarakhand, rivers have attracted the people to settle along their banks because of extremely fertile soil that they provide along their banks for agriculture. Colonies along the Gori Ganga valley between Munsyari and Jauljibi in Pithoragarh have suffered badly due to flood in the Gori river caused by cloudbursts this monsoon season. Many houses along the river banks have been damaged. Out of about 70 km road stretch between Munsyari and Jauljibi, about 50 km road has been badly damaged, said D C Singh, Chief Engineer, state irrigation department (Kumaon division), while talking to The Pioneer on Friday.
But, Singh who has recently been in different parts of the disaster ravaged Pithoragarh further said, fertile soil that the rivers bring along their banks has hugely contributed to the economy of the villagers in terms of agriculture. The fact is that whereas people living in valleys of these rivers grow grains like wheat, paddy, to name a few, their counterparts who live in upper reaches or close to the Himalayas focus on handicraft items like woolen clothes, medicinal herbs to name
a few. And the interesting fact is that the people subsequently exchange each others’ products to meet their needs. The traditional fairs like the Jauljibi fair or the Uttarayani fair in Bageshwar only confirm this belief. People still gather in these traditional fairs to exchange their products, he added.
Though the losses caused by the rivers like Kali, Gori, Dhauli and Ramganga to lives and properties of people living in different parts of Pithoragarh including Madkot, Dharchula, Ghatbagar, Tapovan, Mori-Chori Bagar , Dofat village, Baluwakot to name a few is immense, they have no other way but to pick up the pieces of their lives in the same areas.
Flood protection works can help to protect the lives and properties that we have seen in places like Dharchula town to some extent as the official concerned maintain , but it is not so easy for human being to take on the nature.