A Glacier Burst, Recurring Landslides, And Flashfloods, What Is Happening In Uttarakhand?

Uttarakhand prides itself as 'Devbhoomi' and is home to some of the most famous Hindu pilgrim sites in India.

The Himalayan state is also blessed with an abundance of natural beauty and attracts millions of tourists from India and abroad every year.

In recent years, Uttarakhand has also been making headlines for all the wrong reasons.

AP

On Thursday, the Uttarakhand government confirmed that 52 people have been killed in flash floods and landslides across the state in the past couple of days.

With over a dozen people still missing and, many villages still remaining cut off due to blocked roads, the death toll from the rains that had battered Uttarakhand for over two days is likely to go up.

Nainital worst hit

Nainital district was the worst hit and accounted for twenty-eight of the deaths.

This was the latest natural disaster to hit Uttarakhand, which has been on the receiving end of nature's fury for some time now.

In September, heavy rains had hit several parts of the state, causing widespread damages.

ANI

In late August also Uttrakhand had witnessed the ugly side of nature.

But the worst this year was in February when a glacier burst in Joshimath.

A portion of the Nanda Devi glacier had broken off, causing a flash flood that hit Chamoli district.

Reuters

Over 200 people including dozens of workers who were trapped inside a tunnel in the Tapovan dam site were killed in the disaster.

What triggered the rock and hanging glacier to fall in Uttarakhand remains an open question.

The study conducted by the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) said that the flood was not caused by a Glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF) as there were no significant glacial lakes in the area.

The study further noted that a strong western disturbance resulted in heavy precipitation in the area, causing the rockslide and increasing the flood magnitude downstream.

Reuters

Over the years, especially after the devastating floods of 2013, the state of the ecology of Uttarakhand has been a serious concern.

Many experts had pointed out that unplanned construction activities and mining in flood-prone areas and ecologically sensitive zones have exacerbated the situation.

They also pointed out that massive construction projects like the one that was underway in Tapovan, when the glacier burst happened are not feasible for the area.

Back in 2013 following the Kedarnath floods, the Supreme Court had taken suo moto cognisance of the situation and directed the ministry of environment, forest and climate change (MoEF&CC) to form a committee to ¡®make a detailed study as to whether existing and under construction, hydroelectric projects have contributed to environmental degradation.

AP

But even after the disaster in Tapovan earlier this year, the MoEFCC in September filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court conveying that it has given the go-ahead for seven controversial hydro-electric projects in the Upper Ganga region, which were stopped by the apex court in 2013.

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