Flash flood washes away homes, offices in Uttarakhand's Chamoli
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The recurring nature of these disasters has reignited concerns over the scale and intent of so-called infrastructure development in the fragile Himalayan terrain where lakhs of crores of rupees is being dumped. “How many people actually live in these high-altitude villages?” an expert asks. It's criminal!
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CHAMOLI, Aug 23: Many people are feared missing following a massive cloudburst
in Uttarakhand's Chamoli district in the wee hours of Saturday. Flood waters
swept away houses and vehicles and destroyed the market and damaged office buildings
in the Tharali tehsil headquarters. The buildings damaged included the SDM’s
residence.
Tunri Gadhera flowing into Pindar river filled the office buildings with debris
in Tharali. Chepdo village was also buried under debris from overflowing streams.
Rescue operations are underway. Fifty Army personnel were deployed to assist
in the operations.
The Karnaprayag-Gwaldam National Highway connecting Tharali has been shut due
to debris near Ming Gadhera.
The cloudburst caused destruction within a one-km radius of the tehsil headquarters,
overflowing local streams filling offices and homes with debris.
The worst-hit areas include Sagwara village and the Chepdon market.
The Government posted on X: “Due to the damage caused by excessive rainfall
to buildings and the tehsil office in Tharali tehsil of Chamoli district, the
District Magistrate has ordered the immediate requisition of the rest house
and office premises of Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam in Kulsari and Garhwal Mandal
Vikas Nigam in Deval for temporarily operating the tehsil office and setting
up relief camps for the affected.”
All schools and anganwadis in the State were closed on Saturday as heavy rainfall
and thunderstorms were forecast for the region by the IMD.
The Alaknanda and Bhagirathi rivers were flowing above the danger mark.
Due to heavy rainfall in Uttarkashi, the Gangotri and Yamunotri National Highways
have been partially obstructed with debris and trees falling on the road.
What behind infra constructions
This tragedy comes on the heels of multiple flash flood incidents in Uttarakhand
over the past two months. On August 5, a sudden deluge in Dharali and Harsil
villages, triggered by a glacial lake outburst or landslide-induced breach,
swept away homes, hotels, and an Army camp, leaving over 60 people missing.
Equally devastating was a cloudburst in neighbouring Yamunotri previously.
The recurring nature of these disasters has reignited concerns over the scale
and intent of infrastructure development in the fragile Himalayan terrain.
Experts and environmentalists point to the rapid construction of tunnels, highways,
railways and hydropower projects as a contributing factor. “We’ve destabilized
the mountains,” said Dr. YP Sundriyal, a geologist at the Wadia Institute. “Construction
on riverbeds and floodplains is not just illegal—it’s suicidal”.
The Char Dham highway project, for instance, has involved extensive blasting
and widening of roads through landslide-prone zones. Critics argue that the
lakhs of crores spent on such ventures—extracted from the poor people—serve
a narrow set of interests: tourism, pilgrimage and strategic connectivity. But
at what cost?
“How many people actually live in these high-altitude villages?” asks Ravi
Chopra, former chair of the Supreme Court’s high-powered committee on Himalayan
infrastructure. “We’re building mega-projects for transient populations while
ignoring the safety and sustainability of those who call these hills home”.
Satellite data from ISRO confirms that many of the recent disasters occurred
in areas with unregulated construction and altered river morphology. Scientists
at ARIES in Nainital warn that localised warming due to concrete expansion is
accelerating cloud formation and triggering intense rainfall events.
In the words of a Sagwara resident: “We don’t need more roads and tunnels.
We need safer homes, forests and respect for the mountains."
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