It is only those who have visited Uttarakhand, experienced the beauty, tranquillity and peace of the hills, seen the majesty of the Himalayas and glory of the Ganga, felt spirituality and bliss – only they will feel the acute pain of the calamity thath has befallen the State today. Yes, others might also feel the pain but unless one has experienced the State, it is probably difficult to understand the fragility of the topography there.

Today the dirt of politics threatens to take over the slush and mud that the rivers have washed down in full fury. Visuals of the rivers gushing down somehow makes one feel that the rivers are truly angry, infuriated with this plundering by man. The boulders, slush and mud piling up are seemingly pushing back all the muck which man has slathered on fragile nature.

Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned… We are seeing today what happens when Mother Nature gets angry.

There is a now a raging debate about whether the disaster was man-made, whether the weather department failed to predict correctly, whether the Chief Minister ignored the warnings of the weather department, whether mindless pursuit of economic development led to this, whether the mining mafia and construction dons raped the hills… the blame game has begun. But the fact remains that today parts of the State lie in a shambles.

Common theme

Talking to locals on a recent visit to Uttarakhand, I found that one theme was common: they needed economic development. Like the manager at a lodge at Kund, a small village before Uttarkashi. He said that his family lived in Dehradun as there are no proper schools in Kund. He said life was very tough in Kund and all over the State, except Dehradun. He said employment opportunities were low and if at all, they were at lodges and hotels which anyway were closed during winter. He said he wished more companies set up shop so that employment came their way and quality of life could improve.

The same sentiment was voiced by scores of locals. Whomever we spoke to said that they wanted economic development. But when we told them that economic development would take away the charm of the hills, they said we city dwellers were very selfish – we wanted to live in economically developed cities but came for a few days to rugged and rural places to unwind while they (the locals) continued to live in a difficult environment.

We pointed out that such development could damage the fragile topography of the State. Well, most of them felt they wanted to live better lives and let Mother Nature take care of Herself. And She has…

While traversing the hills we came across trucks carrying sand, mud and wood from the hills. Locals pointed out that these contractors were eating away the hills to build tall buildings which they warned were a big no-no. But at the same time, they said helplessly that if they wanted progress, they had to do this.

So, throughout the State, we came across this constant ‘fight’ between economic development and protection of environment. We could not help but enjoy the luxuries of a good hotel on the banks of the Ganga but at the same time, could not help but rue the degradation of the environment by their very presence. So where do we strike a balance?

The locals agree that it was mindless development which perpetrated the disaster but at the same time, fear that the government will not bring economic progress to their State any more. They feel that the damaged roads and fallen bridges will take ages to rebuild. Pilgrims will go back home to their cities but they will have to live there, amidst the debris, and struggle to get basics like food, water and electricity for months.

The face-off between development and the environment has no easy solution. With climate change becoming a permanent phenomenon, we have to brace ourselves for extreme weather and more natural disasters. But we can surely build on the response to such disasters.

Make a beginning

Having proper disaster management systems in place, restricting the number of pilgrims being allowed, as in Manasarovar, could be a beginning. Also, we need to look at the form in which we are bringing in economic progress. Building only dams and hydro power projects are not the solution. We need to put in more schools and colleges, set up companies which are lower in pollution like research and development facilities, training centres, local arts and crafts, even IT solution development centres. Thesewill bring in employment as well as responsible economic development. Above all, we need to understand that Uttarakhand and other hilly regions are unlike the rest of India so applying the same formula for economic progress is not the solution.

One cannot help but wonder where India Inc is in all this. Where is their Corporate Social Responsibility. GVK had a hydro power project in Srinagar on the Alaknanda on the way to Kedarnath. Jaiprakash Power has a plant at Vishnuprayag on the way to Badrinath. NTPC has a huge facility at Joshimath. Anil Ambani is said to visit the Badrinath shrine as soon as its opens in the summer and before it shuts for the winter. He lands there in a helicopter and is even said to have built a house there. This is the time CSR from India Inc should be at its highest.

Last but not the least when we, the common people, go to such fragile topographies we need to be more responsible, ensuring we do not abuse the environment.We might have made huge scientific progress but do we have the technology to match the fury of Mother Nature? Or can any modern equipment build a temple as strong as the one built in Kedarnath over 1000 years ago?

Ruma studied at the Podar College of Commerce and Economics, Mumbai. She lives in Dubai.

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