The flash floods that swept Central Uttarakhand's Chamoli district is the latest in a long list of calamities that have struck the Himalayan state over the past 40-50 years. The disaster, which took place on Sunday claimed the lives of 20 people, with 197 still missing.
Around 25 to 30 workers are also trapped at two tunnels near the Tapovan Dam, as rescue efforts from the Indo Tibetan Border Police and Uttarakhand Police are still underway.
Bengaluru-based historian Ramachandra Guha in his column for NDTV noted the lessons that he took away from the Chamoli tragedy. Here's a look at the six lessons that he highlighted:
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1. Uttarakhand: Prone to disasters
Guha speaks of previous calamities that stuck the north Indian state — the 2013 Kedarnath floods, the Alaknanda floods of 1978, and the Bhagirathi floods in 1970 — to drive home the message that the state's disaster-prone nature was by no means unknown. He also mentions two earthquakes - one in Utkarshi in 1991, and another at the present disaster's epicentre, Chamoli.
2. Disasters are both natural and man-made
The historian says that the above mentioned disasters were "as much man-made as they are acts of nature." Had the forests been left as they were, the impact of an unusual burst of heavy rain, a glacial burst, or an earthquake, he says, would have "far less damaging effects."
He goes on to mention the construction of dams, hotels, and carelessly constructed roads as causes for the floods. Uncontrolled construction weakens the hills and the resultant loss of lives and livelihoods to a disaster is "as much a consequence of such faulty policy-making, and of corruption and human greed, as it is of the "wrath of nature" per se," he says.
3. The Himalayas are for the country to protect
The Himalayas, apart from its cultural significance and strategic importance, is a biodiversity hub. As tall as they stand, the mountains are environmentally fragile, making them prone to earthquakes, floods, and landslides, which makes safeguarding the range all the more important, the 62-year old says.
In his article, Guha proposed a 'moratorium' on all dam projects in the Himalayas and doing away with the Char Dam highway project to keep what's left of the mountains and Uttarakhand intact.
4. Environment-friendly development
Guha is of the opinion that development anywhere in the nation must be sustainable. He urges the government to stop mimicking the western industrial growth model that relies on capital- and energy-intensive model, which can not work in a country as densely populated as India.
He slams "corporate-friendly" columnists who argue for easing of environmental laws and believe that India is "too poor" to be green. India, more than any other rich country, he says, needs to adopt greener policies for its sustenance.
5. Talk to experts, lawmakers!
Politicians' reluctance to listen to subject experts, let alone consult them while drafting laws and projects leads to calamities like the floods in Chamoli, the Bengaluru-based historian believes.
The dams in Uttarakhand may have been built better or not built at all had experts in hydrology, energy planning, or mountain ecology been consulted, Guha opines. He pins the blame for such disasters on the nexus between lawmakers and bureaucrats.
6. Decentralise decision-making
Guha believes that giving decision-making powers to those that are directly affected by a given policy can likely produce more sustainable and equitable economic policies. He cites the Gadricholi model as a stellar example of the benefits of decentralisation.
A case study of community forest in Maharashtra's Gadricholi district showed that villagers, when given control over a variety of forests managed by state departments, were able to grow thicker forests while still "generating a steady stream of income and employment." This model, Guha says, can also be implemented across central India.
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