THE UTTARAKHAND GLACIAL LAKE OUTBURST

The recent Uttarakhand glacial burst disaster is a tragedy of massive proportions. In the Chamoli district, in Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve, the burst led to an avalanche and flooding around the Alaknanda River, Dhauliganga River, and the Rishiganga Power Project. The flash flood resulted in dozens of missing people, which rescuers have been attempting to reach through rescue operations. However, only 34 bodies have been recovered so far, and more than 170 people seem to be missing.

The incident has yet again thrown light on the dangers of ill- planned and thoughtless development in the fragile ecosystem of the Himalayas- a region that is becoming more prone to wildfires and glacier outbursts due to climate change.

The genesis of the tragedy

When a dam is constructed around a glacial lake, an outburst flood can happen when the glacial water is released. The volume of water contained in glacier lakes can measure up to hundreds of millions of cubic metres of water and the resultant burst may occur due to a host of factors. Himalayan glaciers have been melting at a rapid pace due to global warming and disasters like the one in Uttarakhand are exacerbated by increased human activity in the area such as riverbed dredging, deforestation and construction of dams.

This is not an isolated occurrence as assessment reports by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change have noted that possible decrease in mountain slope stability and increase in glacier lakes are often precursors to such incidents. The presence of 47 extremely dangerous Himalayan glacial lakes has also been recorded. It is rather ironic that the cradle of environmental movements such as the Chipko movement is now a playing ground for the government to initiate several environmentally irresponsible projects such as dams, hydroelectric projects and more.

In India’s pursuit to increase its hydroelectric power output in the Himalayan region, several key environmental considerations have been relegated to the backseat. The brutal aftermath of these projects has been witnessed repeatedly with the 1991 Tehri Dam moderate quake and the absolutely devastating Kedarnath floods in 2013. Apart from causing landslides and floods, such activities also negatively impact the local communities and biodiversity. In a recent study, scientists emphasized upon the frailty of the ecosystems present in the Eastern Himalayas and underpinned the hardship endured by the poverty stricken and marginalized people inhabiting the region.

What lies ahead?

The extreme political apathy towards preserving the pristine Himalayan ranges is only highlighted in the commission of the Char Dham project, inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2016. The project seeks to connect four important pilgrimage sites in Uttarakhand by cutting through the mountains and building a network of highways. It is rather ironic that the Prime Minister has dedicated this project to the victims of the 2013 floods, when in the future, the Char Dham project could itself be the trigger that causes many man- made natural disasters. The location of the highway is along a 900 km stretch that passes through an ecologically sensitive region susceptible to slope failure. Tota Ghati, where the project will come up, has been assessed and demonstrated to have slope stability between 1 (unstable) to 1.3 (marginally stable) by the Critical Factor of Safety (FoS). Excessive blasting, vibration and heavy excavators could result in potential earthquakes, fractures, and slope instability. It is rather troubling to note that the project has successfully avoided environmental scrutiny through a convenient loophole. Circumventing an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways claimed the 889 km long project was made of “53 civil works”, each less than 100 km in length which is exempt from requiring an EIA since 2013, separated by 16 bypasses.

The Supreme Court has attempted to intervene in what can be seen as a minor victory in the larger scheme of things. The environmental groups who took the case to court witnessed relief when the Apex Court passed an order that favoured a narrower width for the proposed highway in lieu of the recommendations put forth by a court- appointed committee. However, it seems like a small drop in the ocean since considerable damage has already been wrought on the ecosystem. The report submitted by the committee stated that “nearly 700 hectares of forest land have already been lost to the project, 47,043 trees felled, and the natural drainage of streams and springs blocked by muck dumping. With the hills being cut vertically, oftentimes without forest clearances, 11 landslides have occurred in just four months of 2020, causing deaths and injuries.”

At the moment, the Char Dham Project is nothing but a future catastrophe. When leaders not only do the nothing to mitigate climate change but also initiate projects that actively worsen it, it is not their ignorance on display but sheer irresponsibility to disguise their limitless indifference. The glacier burst and the lives lost consequently seem to be just the beginning of worse times to come in this troubled terrain.