Uttarakhand Landslides & Floods - A Man-made crisis

Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, two hill states in the Himalayan range, are the worst hit by the extreme rains that struck northern India in the wake of monsoons that set in every year. Many people lose their homes and life, and many pilgrims get stranded every year because of heavy rains & landslides which also lead to heavy floods. Heavy rainfall wreaked havoc on the region because of the fragile nature of the Himalayan range and poor soil stability on its steep slopes. But it is man-made factors that have compounded the scale of the disaster. Unabated expansion of hydro-power projects and construction of roads to accommodate ever-increasing tourism, especially religious tourism, are also major causes for the unprecedented scale of devastation, say experts.

Data with the Uttarakhand State Transport Department confirms this. In 2005-06, 83,000-odd vehicles were registered in the state. The figure rose to nearly 180,000 in 2012-13. Out of this, the proportion of cars, jeeps, and taxis, which are the most preferred means of transport for tourists landing in the state, increased the most. In 2005-06, 4,000 such vehicles were registered, which jumped to 40,000 in 2012-13 and it gets increases every year. It is an established fact that there is a straight correlation between tourism increase and a higher incidence of landslides.

The Ganga in the upper reaches has been an engineer’s playground. The Central Electricity Authority and the Uttarakhand power department have estimated the river’s hydroelectric potential at some 9,000 MW and have planned 70-odd projects on its tributaries. In building these projects the key tributaries would be modified—through diversion to tunnels or reservoirs to such an extent that 80 percent of the Bhagirathi and 65 percent of the Alaknanda could be “affected”. As much as 90 percent of the other smaller tributaries could be “affected” the same way.