DEHRADUN: Decades of indiscriminate felling of deodar trees are being squarely blamed by both scientists and local residents for the devastating scale of the August 5 cloudburst tragedy in Dharali, Uttarkashi.
As central and state government expert agencies launch intensive probes into the catastrophic rain-induced event that swiftly plunged the region into mourning, a consensus is emerging that extensive deodar loss directly magnified the disaster’s ferocity.
Scientists unequivocally state that had Dharali retained its historical deodar forest cover, the impact of this calamity would have been significantly reduced, if not negligible. Deodar trees possess a unique and crucial characteristic: their dense, intricate root systems are vital for binding soil, preventing erosion, and effectively impeding the downward flow of debris and water during torrential rains or landslides.
Dr Ajay Singh Rawat, an internationally acclaimed environmentalist and author-historian renowned for his extensive work on Uttarakhand’s environment, emphasized the gravity of the situation in an exclusive interaction.
“The Dharali tragedy should serve as a serious lesson for us,” Rawat asserted. “Deodar trees play an absolutely crucial role in environmental protection and in binding the very soil of these vulnerable Himalayan regions.”
Dr Rawat, who has penned several authoritative books on Uttarakhand’s forests and ecological challenges, offered a poignant historical perspective. “Once, the high and trans-Himalayan regions of Uttarakhand – specifically areas above 2,000 meters above sea level – were densely forested with deodar trees,” he explained. “An average of 400 to 500 deodar trees populated every square kilometre.”
“Whether it was a cloudburst or a landslide,” Rawat underscored, “the inherent qualities of deodar trees prevented debris and water from cascading downwards unchecked.”
The devastating natural disaster in Dharali has surprisingly cast a spotlight on Frederick Wilson, a British East India Company soldier who arrived in the region 185 years ago. Escaping Company rigidity in the 1840s, Wilson found refuge in Garhwal’s remote Harsil. He is credited with revolutionizing the region’s economy by pioneering the lucrative deodar timber trade, ingeniously floating logs down the Bhagirathi River.
Wilson, who also introduced apple cultivation to Harsil, deeply assimilated into local life, marrying a ‘Pahari’ woman. “Wilson’s controversial yet transformative legacy is now being re-examined,” noted a local historian.
Istiaq Ahmed, an Uttarkashi resident whose family roots trace back over 120 years, before 1920, squarely blames deforestation for the region’s escalating natural calamities. “Deodar trees stood as sentinels of this region,” Ahmed, who also serves as president of the Minority Seva Samiti, said. “But once their felling began, the intensity of natural disasters escalated dramatically.”
Adding a historical dimension to this environmental degradation, Ahmed asserts that British adventurer Wilson initiated this destructive trend of deodar felling, a process he claims “hasn’t stopped since.”
While acknowledging Wilson’s positive contributions, such as introducing Harsil’s famous apples and trout fish to Dharali, Ahmed holds him directly accountable for the extensive environmental devastation caused by the felling.
Ahmed’s family, with his grandfather Aashiq Beg loyal to the Tehri monarchy and his father Yasin Beg, a contractor deeply concerned about nature, has witnessed this environmental degradation firsthand, lending weight to his perspective.
Amidst the current tragedy, locals also reminisce about a different era, specifically the 1985 film Ram Teri Ganga Maili, which was shot in the Harsil-Dharali valley. Starring Mandakini and Rajiv Kapoor, the film’s “scenic beauty and song still resonate” with residents, who credit it for significantly boosting tourism in the region.
