The August 5 disaster in Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand should be a grim reminder of how unregulated human activities in the name of development can invite the wrath of nature. It was caused by a cloudburst leading to massive flash floods that almost wiped out the entire Dharali village, killing at least five and burying or washing away scores of others, besides bringing down and swallowing properties. Specifically, it needs to be a lesson for the government, the authorities concerned and the public in Karnataka, where a crucial part of the Western Ghats – considered a biodiversity hotspot – has been rendered fragile.
While using the term “wrath of nature”, however, it must be remembered that nature by itself has no emotions like humans do. But nature reacts unconsciously to human actions, based purely on the laws of nature and logic. For instance, how difficult is it to foretell that a building would collapse in a heap if its foundations are rendered weak?
Uttarkashi is part of the Himalayan ranges, which for millions of years has been actively changing its structural profile. The Himalayas started forming due to dynamic movements of Earth’s tectonic plates. They started to rise when the Indo-Australian plate collided with the Eurasian plate about 50 million years ago.
The Indo-Australian plate continues to push into the Eurasian plate at a rate of five millimetres every year, causing the Himalayas to rise by a few millimetres each year. As the mountain range rises, there is bound to be structural evolution. These changes express themselves in the extreme when weather acts on them – like formations of glacial ponds in the high altitude regions of the mountain ranges, which can also be sources of rivers, like the Kheer Ganga river, the flash floods on which impacted Dharali on August 5. These glacial ponds in the higher reaches of the Himalayas are subject to bursting during heavy rains or cloudbursts, potentially devastating for areas downstream – which, according to experts, possibly led to the destruction of Dharali village downstream of Kheer Ganga river, when a wall of water, rocks and debris came hurtling down.
The Himalayas – the youngest and the highest mountain ranges in the world – is also the most active in terms of its changing characteristics. While that is mainly due to the natural phenomenon of tectonic movements, human activities in this already fragile mountain range only renders it more vulnerable to devastation among the millions of people settled in the lower reaches of this mountain range and those on the Gangetic plains to its south.
The Western Ghats, on the other hand, are known to be one of the oldest mountain ranges, which formed about 80 million years ago. They are not dynamically active like the Himalayas. Besides, the Western Ghats are relatively safer as they are not snow-capped, like the Himalayas, and are not vulnerable to the same kind of threats that the latter faces. Unlike the Himalayas, the Western Ghats are home to dense, green forests and a huge range of flora and fauna, which in turn qualifies it as a valuable ecosystem recognised as a biodiversity hotspot.
But its value in biodiversity has become its own villain. Its serenity has attracted infrastructure development, mainly for tourism, power generation and road networks. This invasive human behaviour has led to thousands of landslides in the Western Ghats region of Karnataka.
As per Karnataka State Disaster Management Authority (KSDMA) data, a total of 1,272 landslides were recorded in Karnataka between 2009 and 2021, and the trend showed an increasing graph from 2016 onwards, with 2018 recording a whopping 462. The KSDMA and Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre (KSNDMC) have identified the most vulnerable areas to be in Chikkamagaluru, Dakshina Kannada, Hassan, Kodagu, Shivamogga, Udupi and Uttara Kannada districts. Geological Survey of India (GSI) data has revealed that 31,261.42 sq km area in Karnataka is susceptible to landslides, with the highest being in Uttara Kannada (8,389.26 sq km), followed by Shivamogga (4,797.97 sq km). In these, 1,164.52 sq km area is most susceptible; 5,386.79 sq km, moderately susceptible; and 24,710.11 sq km, less susceptible.
And why is this happening despite the Western Ghats being much safer than the Himalayas? Unscientific cutting of slopes while laying roads through the hills; proliferation of structures for home-stays, resorts, hotels for tourism; and mini-hydel projects for power generation are to blame.
In a significant manner, controlling human activities in the Western Ghats would go a much longer way in ensuring the conservation of its ecosystem and making it safer than aiming for the same in the naturally more volatile Himalayan regions. But for that to happen, a strong political will and a resolute public mind, to conserve and preserve rather than exploit, has to be in place.
Nirad Mudur
Deputy Resident Editor, Karnataka
niradgmudur@newindianexpress.com