DEHRADUN: The peaceful Himalayan village of Dharali in Uttarkashi district has been nearly erased after a suspected cloudburst triggered a deadly flash flood and mudslide. In just hours, the village’s landscape was changed forever.
Locals described the disaster as a "deluge of destruction." Within 34 seconds, the historic village was plunged into chaos. Over the next 25 minutes, the flood precisely destroyed "25 homestays, 35 hotels, and 35 homes, picked out one by one and swallowed by the earth," said Dharmendra Panwar, whose grocery shop was also washed away.
"It was like the mountain itself came down on us," said a shaken survivor. "One moment we were preparing for the day, the next, everything was gone. We just ran."
Dharmendra Negi, a hotel owner in Dharali, lost his property in the floods. "I don’t know whose evil eye struck us, but the entire village has been uprooted," he said. However, he remains hopeful, citing Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s "special affection" for Mukhwa. "We have full faith that Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami will swiftly compensate for the devastation, and our village will be rebuilt soon," he added.
Chief Minister Dhami announced Rs 5 lakh aid for families who lost homes and for victims’ kin.
Meanwhile, 35 families in Dharali have lost everything—homes, livelihoods, and belongings—leaving them wondering how to rebuild their lives.
Authorities launched a massive rescue effort, saving 825 people by Saturday using helicopters. Chief Secretary Anand Bardhan reviewed relief operations and appointed IG SDRF Arun Mohan Joshi to oversee rescue efforts, including building a Bailey bridge for road access.
Dharali now faces a challenge similar to Silkyara, with deep debris making rescue difficult. Experts say technology cannot reach those buried 15-20 feet deep, leaving manual digging as the only option.
The Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology is studying satellite images to determine the disaster’s cause. "A key theory explores a landslide creating a temporary water blockage that later breached. Rainfall records are also being analyzed," a source said.
Padma Bhushan Dr Anil Joshi said such disasters are not just Uttarakhand’s fault but a global crisis. He linked glacier melt, warming oceans, and changing rain patterns to climate change, leading to floods from bursting glacier lakes. Joshi warned against blocking river paths and called for scientific studies to ensure safe water release from glaciers to prevent future tragedies.
