Mandakini river damaging houses in Kedarnath valley during the Uttarakhand floods, 2013. Photo: FiertlA/Wikimedia Commons
On a planet where nothing has been left untouched or unmaimed, whether breathing or unbreathing, moving or still, in the skies or deep under the earth; in an existence where microplastics have entered the very cells of distant sea fish, where flowers do not know when to bloom and fruits wither while yet on bud, where nothing is natural – it is a costly foolishness to talk of ‘natural’ disasters. The truth is we live in a world where disasters are natural.
A month has passed since the Chamoli glacial break, and while scientists are still grappling to understand the causes, the reality of a new and dangerous environment is frankly undeniable. “While this event cannot be directly attributed to climate change, it is well known that climate change can lead to increase in the frequency and severity of mountain hazards,” states International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development, Nepal.
This scientific rectitude which awaits the burden of undeniable proof, does not take away in the slightest from the crisis at our door. The gap in our science in no way ought to be utilised to pursue the old and thoughtless paradigm of an environmentally destructive ‘development’.
The catastrophe which ripped through a remote and narrow Himalayan valley like the fury of Shiva, tossing and crushing everything in its path was an unprecedented event. When a glacier snaps off and plunges kilometres into a slim Himalayan river on a calm winter morning and surges through the stunned valley like a colossal monsoon cloudburst, the unreality of the scene itself leaves no doubt of the unnaturalness of the event. And climate change is but a feeble word to cover a complex, seething mess of relentless greed, exploitation and brutality.
Hardly 48 hours after the disaster, chief minister of Uttarakhand cautioned the public ‘not to use the flood against development,’ while the power minister ruled out any cancellation of the Tapovan-Vishnugad hydroelectricity project (HEP).
The furious tornado of water that flowed black and heavy with mud and debris entirely wiped away the Rishi Ganga HEP, the first project it encountered, without a second’s pause. The second HEP, Tapovan-Vishnugad, still under construction, it swept over, heavily damaged and layered with tonnes of silt and debris. Although one might say that these projects were damaged by the disaster, far truer is it to say that it is these bumper-to-bumper projects – numbering 130 in the Himalayas of Uttarakhand, both operational and under construction – that damaged the glaciers.
The alternate hydro energy centre has identified over more than 400 sites for HEPs in Uttarakhand alone! Unabated construction activities, carbon and soot deposits on glaciers, blasting, tunnelling, dumping of muck in riverbeds, tree felling, forest fires, air pollution and other numerous factors in such pristine para glacial zones exacerbate the heating of the Himalaya that is already higher than the global average. Not just science – any resident of Uttarakhand will attest that never have such warm winters been experienced as in the last decade.
Moreover our latest disaster is manmade in more than one way. A decade of delayed policymaking in the matter of hydro projects in the Himalayas is now verging on the criminal. In 2014 an expert committee headed by Ravi Chopra was formulated to assess the role of HEPs in the 2013 Kedarnath flood. Referring to its findings the Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) stated in an affidavit dated 5/12/2014 : “It is clear from the report submitted by the Expert Body (EB) which is inclusive of the findings of many researches/committees, that with the construction of hydro power projects the local ecology is certainly overburdened. There are clear citings of irreversible damages of environment, in terms of loss of forests, degraded water quality, geological, social impacts and that they enhance landslides and other disasters.”
The MoEF also admitted: “It is pertinent to conclude that there has been a direct and an indirect impact of the HEPs in the aggravation of the floods of 2013.”
The Chopra committee categorically recommended: “Learning from the June 2013 event, the EB felt that the enhanced sediment flux could be a serious problem for the longevity of the proposed and ongoing river valley projects in Uttarakhand. The reason being that glaciers in Uttarakhand are receding and leaving behind debris in the vacated areas.
The debris could eventually contribute to the sediment flux into the river valleys particularly during extreme weather events like in June 2013. In view of this, the EB recommends that terrain above the MCT (main central thrust) in general and above the winter snow line in particular (~2200-2500 m) should be kept free from the hydropower intervention in Uttarakhand.”
Twenty four new proposed HEPs were stayed by the Supreme Court on the basis of this report; but eight under construction projects continued. These included the two projects that were wiped away in the latest Nanda Devi glacier break. After the admissions made in the affidavit the most logical decision by the MoEF would have been to cancel new and under-construction projects.
However in an inexplicable contradiction of its earlier affidavit, a year later, the environment ministry thought fit to clear six new proposed projects in the sensitive Himalayan valleys, and by making no decision on the projects under construction, gave them free rein to continue.
In contradiction to the environment ministry, the jal shakti (water resources) ministry felt that these clearances were premature and that all the hydro projects, under construction or proposed, should be reviewed in view of “the larger public interest, safety of the people living in these areas along with the interest of pristine environment, biodiversity, the unique ecological character of the area as well as the river and the commitment for the concept of sustainable development and precautionary principle there is a need for a review of these project.”
This was what the water resources ministry submitted to the Supreme Court in an affidavit filed in May 2016. The court gave the government 12 weeks to reconcile differences between the ministries and come up with a definite policy. That was five years ago, and the court has received no policy yet. Again, making use of this lacuna, the eight under-construction HEPs continued work. Seven of these were above the MCT, all in the vicinity of glaciers.
This ongoing stalemate prompted G.D. Agarwal (Swami Sanand) took up his 115 day fast which culminated in his unfortunate demise. The government that had refused to acknowledge his demand of cancelling all projects on the Ganga and her tributaries was now stirred into mild action.
Meetings were held and it was decided by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) in Dec 2018 and Feb 2019, that none of the proposed projects would be constructed on Ganga and her tributaries; the under-construction projects which had not reached 50% construction would be dropped.
The PMO assured the invited members that the other under-construction projects which have progressed beyond 50% would also be reviewed. However, no decision of this meeting has yet been implemented, nor have the minutes of these meetings been submitted to the Supreme Court where the matter is pending.
We live in a world where nothing is hidden – except perhaps the most obvious truths. Videos and footage of the smashing wall of dark hurtling water have undoubtedly shown us the very face of destruction. But when one sees images of those handful of labourers stuck atop the barrage of the Tapovan dam, racing to and fro the narrow ledge as the roaring water slid over the cement and then finally fell like a waterfall into the river below, sweeping away the men, does the extent of the calamity inflicted strike home?
Does one ever see the human face culpable for such an atrocity? Does the sudden inrush of thick sludge charging into a tunnel with no escape for the trapped workers, burying them in agony, ever expose the real master of destruction?
Seven years ago, citizens had filed a petition asking that all under-construction projects on the Ganga and her tributaries be stopped. The matter is still pending due to undecided government policy. The recommendations of our scientific experts have also gone unheeded. As if such numerous warnings were not enough, an inter-ministerial group headed by B.K. Chaturvedi, member of the then planning commission, recommended against any HEP construction in the Dhauli Ganga and Rishi Ganga valley in 2013.
The group had been asked to look into environmental flows in the Ganga and her tributaries. It recommended, “Seven rivers including Nayar, Bal Ganga, Rishi Ganga, Asi Ganga, Dhauli Ganga (upper reaches), Birahi and Bhyundar Ganga should be kept in pristine form.”
Had these been heeded, or the government acted decisively, there would have been no trapped workers in the Tapovan tunnels where construction was ongoing, nor would one have to witness people being washed into gorges by avalanches of water. Let alone not being a ‘natural’ disaster, the traumatic loss and harm to life could have been avoided at so many different stages along the way. We would also have saved thousands of crores in the bargain which was the construction cost of the two lost HEPs.
Also read: IISc Study Says Subglacial Lakes Could Have Caused Rishi Ganga Flood
The glacial outbreak took place in remote and pristine Himalayas designated as the Nanda Devi biosphere, which is also a UNESCO world heritage site, leaving the stark and beautiful landscape a barren and lifeless ravine. And today while seaplanes will escort tourists from lake to artificial lake, and proposed railways will run through dimly lit tunnels in the high mountains; while the char dhams will become smart cities and helicopter tourism will provide aerial views of the Himalayas; villagers fearing for their life like those of Raini will spend freezing nights in caves, and valleys choked with glacier debris will remould the Himalaya into a brown and withered landscape.
Even as the disaster was playing out on the banks, numerous trout and other fish washed downstream in the muddy water were also struggling to survive. Scenes captured on mobile phones show us a group of people wading in and gleefully grabbing these fish by the bucketful. This was their first instinct.
Our planet is not what it once was. The shelter and serenity of Mother Nature is also a thing of the past. Man has chosen his own path – one of exploiting the voiceless and the innocent. He seeks a world of his own making. The inescapable destiny of his own deeds awaits him with every passing second. And now, is the shelter of the storm his only refuge?
Priyadarshini Patel is the head member of Ganga ahvaan, a citizen forum working towards conservation of the Ganga and the Himalayas. The views expressed are the author’s own.