www.afeias.com IMPORTANTNEWSCLIPPINGS(09‐02‐21) 1Date:09-02-21 Garhwal tragedy The fragile but vital ecology of the Himalayas is demanding it be respected TOI Editorials On Sunday Uttarakhand’s Chamoli district saw massive flooding sweep away the entirety of the Rishiganga hydropower project, alongside a significant chunk of the Tapovan project. More tragically, at least 150 people were reported missing. Amidst search and rescue operations, confusion persisted about exactly what had caused the staggering surge of water. Above all, the many uncertainties spoke to how heavy duty infrastructural push in this ecologically sensitive region is taking place without rigorous enough local research. The danger here is that instead of mitigating the climate challenge, ill‐conceived projects could end up multiplying the risks – and for all of India that lives downstream of the Himalayan rivers. In a savage irony, the Chamoli village Raini that was in the centre of Sunday’s maelstrom was also the cradle of the Chipko movement in the 1970s. Although environmentally respectful development has come into its own in the world since then, that is more true in theory than practice. In Uttarakhand, the Kedarnath tragedy of 2013 was supposed to be a wakeup call. While it was an extreme weather event that caused the Chorabari glacier to burst at that time, damage was compounded by unchecked construction on the riverbed. Following the recommendations of the Chopra committee, the Union environment ministry did accept the need for caution and careful study when it came to “deforestation/ tunnelling/ blasting/ reservoir formation” in zones in the higher Himalayan region that are naturally unstable. But to repeat, theory and practice can diverge sharply. The Rishiganga project, for example, has seen allegations of “using explosives and blasting the mountains” flouting all norms. Much controversy has also surrounded the Char Dham project which involves unprecedented widening of roads in the mountain state. A Supreme Court constituted high‐powered committee has warned of “irreversible damage”.
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Garhwal tragedy
The fragile but vital ecology of the Himalayas is demanding it be
respected
TOI Editorials
On Sunday Uttarakhand’s Chamoli district saw massive flooding sweep
away the entirety of the Rishiganga hydropower project, alongside a
significant chunk of the Tapovan project. More tragically, at least
150 people were reported missing. Amidst search and rescue
operations, confusion persisted about exactly what had caused the
staggering surge of water. Above all, the many uncertainties spoke
to how heavy duty infrastructural push in this ecologically
sensitive region is taking place without rigorous enough local
research. The danger here is that instead of mitigating the climate
challenge, illconceived
projects could end up multiplying the risks – and for all of India
that lives downstream of the Himalayan rivers.
In a savage irony, the Chamoli village Raini that was in the centre
of Sunday’s maelstrom was also the cradle of the Chipko movement in
the 1970s. Although environmentally respectful development has come
into its own in the world since then, that is more true in theory
than practice. In Uttarakhand, the Kedarnath tragedy of 2013 was
supposed to be a wakeup call. While it was an extreme weather event
that caused the Chorabari glacier to burst at that time, damage was
compounded by unchecked construction on the riverbed.
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Troubled mountains
The Uttarakhand glacier burst should prompt a review of how the
Himalayas are treated
EDITORIAL
The staggering collapse of part of a glacier in Uttarakhand’s Nanda
Devi mountain and the ensuing floods that have claimed many lives
come as a deadly reminder that this fragile, geologically dynamic
region can never be taken for granted. A significant slice of the
glacier, dislodged by a landslide, according to some satellite
images, produced roaring torrents in the Rishiganga and Dhauliganga
rivers in Chamoli district, trapping unsuspecting workers at two
hydro power project sites. Scores of people are still missing in
the wave of water, silt and debris that swamped the rivers and
filled tunnels in the Tapovan power project, although the immediate
rescue of nearly 15 people by the ITBP, the Army and other agencies
brings some cheer. The rescuers face a challenging environment as
they try to locate more survivors and bring relief supplies to
paralysed communities. These immediate measures are important,
along with speedy compensation to affected families. But the Centre
and the Uttarakhand government cannot ignore the larger context of
the State’s increasing frailty in the face of environmental shocks.
Once the crucible of environmentalism, epitomised by Sunderlal
Bahuguna, Gaura Devi and the Chipko movement, the State’s deep
gorges and canyons have attracted many hydroelectric projects and
dams, with little concern for earthquake risk. Red flags have been
raised repeatedly, particularly after the moderate quake in 1991 in
the region where the Tehri dam was built and the 2013 floods that
devastated Kedarnath, pointing to the threat from seismicity,
daminduced microseismicity, landslides and floods from a variety of
causes, including unstable glacial lakes and climate change.
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