The "cancerous tourism" is behind the loss of ecological balance in Himachal Pradesh, an expert has warned, as heavy rains and flash floods hit several
parts of the state, triggering landslides and disrupting normal life in many districts. Over the past few weeks, the Himalayan states of Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Jammu & Kashmir have witnessed one of the worst floods, landslides, and destructive rains. Roads have been washed away, several villages cut off, and thousands of people have been rendered homeless. The intense floods and cloudbursts in the Himalayan states were the effect of climate change "exacerbating what is naturally a Himalayan variability and a combination of microscopic ever-changing climatic terrain in the Himalayas", Dr Manu Singh, who is an environment activist, told Times Now. He said that the state government needs to keep a check on inbound tourists to protect the environment and ecology of the hill state. If these current trends continue, what are we looking at? "I would say what the Supreme Court said for Himachal Pradesh, it will be wiped off the map within a decade or two if the same thing happens," he warned. Observing that the situation in Himachal Pradesh has gone from bad to worse, the apex court said climate change is having a "visible and alarming impact" on the state. "We want to impress upon the state government and Union of India that earning revenue is not everything. Revenue cannot be earned at the cost of environment and ecology," a bench of Justices J B Pardiwala and R Mahadevan said. '80% of Calamity Result of Climate Change' Dr Manu Singh warned that 80 per cent of the calamity was due to climate change, with "20%" result of natural Himalayan variability. "Because as the global temperatures are increasing due to, we all know, that we have been the key factors. I mean, we, meaning human species, are increasing these global temperatures. And because of climate change, the air has become warmer comparatively, for centuries, and warmer air holds more moisture than before," he said, breaking down the factors behind severe ecological imbalance and other environmental conditions that have led to serious natural calamities over a period of years. "Secondly, the climate has also become erratic, and we have seen a more than 700% increase in the formation of cumulonimbus clouds. Clouds that hold more moisture, are denser. So what happens is that these dense clouds, when monsoon is moving, we will see that there are areas in central India that do not receive adequate rainfall. Because for a dense cloud to reach the precipitation point, you need extremely cold winds. And all those laden clouds, when they reach, say, a Himalayan region, and this is not only limited to Uttarakhand, Kashmir, and Himachal, but we've seen devastation in the Himalayan regions in China, and also in Pakistan, in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa," he said. He further added, "So what happens is when these moisture-laden clouds hit the Himalaya, there's an orographic effect, and as the IMD also defines, the precipitation is reached, and immediately the downpour begins,and we have a cloudburst, which is more than or equal to 100 mm rain in, say, about a duration of less than one hour, in a space of 20 to 30 square kilometres. This extreme rainfall then exacerbates further because of ill-planned areas in the mountains, with a lot of debris lying here and there, and the result is that there is devastation". The rapid urbanisation, and big infrastructure projects in these states has also contributed to the floodings, he said. This illegal sprouting of an unregulated construction industry, including the construction of roads "which are not scientifically planned", and hotels and resorts "just to cater to the needs of an eco-tourism model", is devastating the surfaces of a young fold mountains, he warned. This unregulated construction will continue to amplify damages by destabilising the slopes, he said. "And when the slopes are destabilised, you have speedy runoffs of not only water, but also concrete and debris during landslides. To add to that, not only is this unplanned, but you see that the river systems are being damaged, completely demolished," he added.
He also flagged rampant violations og guidelines for the hilly region. "If you look at those poignant images of Dharali, you will see that the construction was bang in the middle of the rivers. When the flood came, we called it tragedy. I would call it human stupidity to be constructing resorts and hotels bang near the river banks. And this is happening. Himachal, as we speak, yesterday's visuals of the Beas swallowing away resorts and hotels across the belt. That's just tragic, but also stupid," he said.
Remote Himachal village Cut Off as Bridges Washed Away by Flash Floods
Flash floods in River Ravi have washed away several government buildings at the remote Bada Bangal village in Kangra district.
However, no loss of life has been reported, they said.
The Bada Bangal village, located at an altitude of 7,800 feet and is accessible only by foot through high-altitude Thamsar and Kalihani passes, remains cut off from the rest of the state for four to six months during winters.
According to the State Emergency Operation Centre (SEOC), a total of 536 roads were closed across 11 of the 12 districts in the state. Reports from Chamba have not been received as communication network is snapped in the district, it said.
Out of the roads closed, 217 are in Mandi district and 167 in Kullu.
Around 1,184 power supply transformers and 503 water supply schemes have also been disrupted, the SEOC said.
Between June 20 and August 26, at least 158 people have died in rain-related incidents in Himachal Pradesh, while 38 have gone missing, according to the SEOC.
The state has witnessed 90 flash floods, 42 cloudbursts and 85 major landslides so far. It has incurred losses to the tune of Rs 2,623 crore in rain-related incidents, the SEOC data showed.
With inputs from PTI
