Uttarakhand’s forest and rivers were constantly exploited in the name of development. The concerned groups always demanded an environment-friendly policy, but they were ignored by the Government time and again
Fifty five-year old Gundi Devi accompanies seven to eight children every morning to their school. No, not because she is their grandmother or the care-taker. She just wants to stay away from her house. She helps these small children from neighbourhood cross the river whose bridge was one of the many things destroyed during the flash-floods in 2013.
“I do not have anything else to do. After losing my husband, my two sons kept me engaged. After the floods swept away whatever little land we had, my sons were left jobless. They were forced to move to town in search of job. I usually spend time alone now”, Gundi Devi, who lives in a house that can fall off anytime, said.
“From ceiling to floor, the house has cracks at several places. During rain, the water seeps in not only from the ceiling but from the floor as well. I cannot sleep peacefully and spend as much time outside the house”, said the worried woman, whose sons earn very little and cannot afford to get their house repaired.
Gundi Devi is one of the thousands women in Uttarakhand who have been forced to live a fearful life with no hope coming their way anytime soon. In her village, Shila Amrapuri, most of the men have migrated to town in search of livelihood leaving women and children behind to live in the damaged houses. However, it is not only the fear of a damaged house but a lot more they are facing all alone.
“Migration was already a problem in our society but post disaster it has gone up drastically. locals who were totally dependent on agriculture and tourism faced a setback as fields were destroyed and tourism — the largest employment providing sector in the hill State, saw a steep fall of 85 per cent in tourist traffic”, said 25-year old Anil Rawat, an unemployed youth from the village, who was ready with his bags packed to migrate to Dehradun in search of job.
“It’s been over a year that my husband left for Rishikesh leaving me behind with two small children. He has visited us only twice since. His job keeps him tied-up. Earlier he earned enough for a quality life but now we are unable to make our ends meet”, 38-year old Sabita Devi informed.
Many families, whose houses were completely destroyed, have moved to lower reaches and have rented houses there surviving as daily wage labourers. In both the situations, men are struggling with jobs while women are struggling with everything else — running households, taking care of children, working in whatever is left in the name of fields, rearing livestock et al. The disaster has impacted the life of women gravely.
“Women who were left behind to deal with the destruction are affected severely both physically and mentally. They have the responsibility of children and other members of the family. For that, they have to compromise their personal health.
For example, they will survive on whatever little food is left after the entire family eats. It clearly impacts a woman’s physical health”, Harshit Sehdev, a social activist working in the Uttarkashi region for last several years now, said.
He also explained how the number of hours of hard work has increased since disaster. They have to walk extra to collect safe drinking water, woods and grass for livestock. “If we want milk for our children, we will have to walk that extra mile”, another resident, Sabita Devi remarked, looking helplessly towards her children.
When asked about the reason behind their condition, they simply laugh off saying, “Ab jal-jungle ka samman nahi karenge toh yehi hoga…” (It is a consequence of not respecting Nature)
The disaster that affected millions of lives and washed away many villages wasn’t the consequence of a sudden event. Uttarakhand’s forest and rivers were constantly being exploited on the name of development for several years now. The concerned groups comprising of locals, environment activists, and civil societies always demanded for an environment-friendly policy but were ignored by the Government time and again.
In the Alaknanda and Bhagirathi basins of Uttarakhand, 70 hydroelectric projects are under construction with a severe impact on more than 9,000 hectares of forest land. In an interview to Down to Earth magazine, Purushottam Sharma, a social activist, informed that, when Uttarakhand was formed, the State had 5.6 million hectares. Of this, 63 per cent was forestland, 14 per cent agricultural land and 23 per cent non-agricultural land. Of the 0.8 million hectare agricultural land, the
Government leased out thousands of hectares to industrialists. It also diverted about 7,567ha to power projects. The nature reacted to the injustice in 2013 washing away every claim of development.
It is not only the home-makers who are affected but those involved in small businesses are also facing their set of challenges. Pushpa Devi, a widow in her late 40s, runs a dhaba in the main market in Rudraprayag town and has been suffering huge losses since disaster.
“I have stopped keeping tissue papers in my shop. It is not required as the last customer I had served was a Rajasthani couple who had visited us in October. And today, after three months, I have served four”, shared a sad Pushpa Devi, who has withdrawn her daughter from school and is planning to marry her with the money she will get selling off her small dhaba.
Clearly, the flood water not only ripped apart the mountains on its journey but also the hearts of these women who have been left to struggle, compromise and deal with life, every single moment.
(The writer is a development journalist based in Delhi. This article has been generated under the National Media Fellowship supported by National Foundation of India)