Disastrous consequences 'await environment' as govt lifts travel restrictions to Char Dham

Gaumukh

By Manasi Hansa*
The Char Dham Yatra, a pilgrimage to four Hindu shrines located in the Himalayan region, has been opened for tourists this year from 22nd April. Until last year the government had put restrictions on the number of devotees allowed per destination which were revised, considering the outpour exceeding the daily limit.
The revisions capped the daily limit of 16,000 in Badrinath, 13,000 in Kedarnath, 8,000 in Gangotri and 5,000 in Yamunotri, however this year, these restrictions were altogether abolished through a government order just a day before the commencement of the Yatra. The question remains whether this revision makes sense considering the eco-sensitivity of the Himalayan region.
The Himalayan region is known for its fragile ecology, threatened by human activity over the years. Linking the Char Dham Project, comprising the widening of an 825 km road network is set to claim 56,000 trees in total, out of which 36,000 have already been chopped as of 2021. This is unfolding in a region that is already withering from soil erosion and prone to landslides.
A study by the Wadia Institute finds that up to 51% of Uttarakhand is susceptible to landslides, with Rudraprayag and Chamoli districts being the most prone. The Alaknanda Valley consists of at least 510 landslide-prone zones, and undue construction and blasting create new micro cracks in rocks, giving rise to newer landslides.
Joshimath, a town just miles away from Badrinath, is suffering the consequences of indiscriminate construction and development activity. At least 849 houses are inhabitable due to the development of heavy cracks, the future of the town and its residents is uncertain.
Geologist S P Sati expressed fears for the ecology of the region as the infrastructure was insufficient to accommodate the influx. Various hotels, lodges, and resorts are constructed without proper planning or a mindset to attract and accommodate more tourists. Badrinath has a total capacity of 12,000 tourists, not enough to accommodate the daily visitors to the shrine during yatra time.

A study by Wadia Institute finds 51% Uttarakhand susceptible to landslides with Rudraprayag and Chamoli being the most prone

Let’s not forget the vehicular pollution and waste production that this huge influx of population is going to bring. The combined carbon footprint of this activity is a fundamental contributor towards the melting of ice caps and glaciers in this region.
Gaumukh, where the Ganges emerges from Gangotri Glacier, is not far from where the free reign of human activity has just been sanctioned. It is important to recognize that the Char Dham Yatra is not just a spiritual journey but also an environmental and ecological journey. Sustainable tourism practices that are mindful of the fragile ecology of the region should be prioritized to protect the Himalayan region for future generations.
Considering all these reasons, it is important to reduce human activity in this unique and susceptible ecological zone, but what the present Uttrakhand Government has done is the polar opposite. Recent videos of landslides on Badrinath Highway are only a preview of destruction that also puts the lives of pilgrimage seekers at risk, with the onset of Monsoons such landslides are going to magnify.
It is certain that the revision of the scheme is not a step towards sustainable development but towards dangerous and mindless destruction.
---
*Advocate, alumni of National Law University, Jodhpur, Litigation Lawyer at Dehradun

Comments

Sudhanshu Joshi said…

The disastrous policy of the Uttarakhand Government is blind to the unique himalayan ecosystem and its fragility. Removing caps on flow of tourists is aimed at with impunity driven commercial motivation with political pressure exerted by businesses which largely benefit outsiders. The other commercial interest is of the motor transport association and the Bus operators besides the hospitality industry.The incremental increase in passenger load is without any consideration of the carrying capacity of the himalayan ecosystem. It is anyone's guess that in higher altitude regions what is the percent coverage of waste management handling capacity and waste sites, for liquid and solid waste. The sewerage coverage in Uttarakhand is also questionable and treatment processes for effluents anybody's guess. What is the institutional ability of the state authorities in SUDA, State Sewerage and Water Supply Agency, Uttarakhand Jal Sansthan to manage waster water and storm water is known to everyone.There will be far reaching consequences of destroying this unique himalayan ecosystem which will bring large scale destruction to the entire Indo-Gangetic Plains. The present government and Government of India should understand that excessive exposure to himalayas will generate livelihoods and employment to people definitely but the emerging wide spread destruction will create very large devastation to livelihoods for millions of people who thrive in the Indo-Gangetic plains and threaten our food security. The enormity of costs with this is unimaginable.

May 15, 2023

History, culture and literature of Fatehpur, UP, from where Maulana Hasrat Mohani hailed

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat* Maulana Hasrat Mohani was a member of the Constituent Assembly and an extremely important leader of our freedom movement. Born in Unnao district of Uttar Pradesh, Hasrat Mohani's relationship with nearby district of Fatehpur is interesting and not explored much by biographers and historians. Dr Mohammad Ismail Azad Fatehpuri has written a book on Maulana Hasrat Mohani and Fatehpur. The book is in Urdu. He has just come out with another important book, 'Hindi kee Pratham Rachna: Chandayan' authored by Mulla Daud Dalmai.' During my recent visit to Fatehpur town, I had an opportunity to meet Dr Mohammad Ismail Azad Fatehpuri and recorded a conversation with him on issues of history, culture and literature of Fatehpur. Sharing this conversation here with you. Kindly click this link. --- *Human rights defender. Facebook https://www.facebook.com/vbrawat , X @freetohumanity, Skype @vbrawat

New RTI draft rules inspired by citizen-unfriendly, overtly bureaucratic approach

By Venkatesh Nayak* The Department of Personnel and Training , Government of India has invited comments on a new set of Draft Rules (available in English only) to implement The Right to Information Act, 2005 . The RTI Rules were last amended in 2012 after a long period of consultation with various stakeholders. The Government’s move to put the draft RTI Rules out for people’s comments and suggestions for change is a welcome continuation of the tradition of public consultation. Positive aspects of the Draft RTI Rules While 60-65% of the Draft RTI Rules repeat the content of the 2012 RTI Rules, some new aspects deserve appreciation as they clarify the manner of implementation of key provisions of the RTI Act. These are: Provisions for dealing with non-compliance of the orders and directives of the Central Information Commission (CIC) by public authorities- this was missing in the 2012 RTI Rules. Non-compliance is increasingly becoming a major problem- two of my non-compliance cases are...

N-power plant at Mithi Virdi: CRZ nod is arbitrary, without jurisdiction

By Krishnakant* A case-appeal has been filed against the order of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) and others granting CRZ clearance for establishment of intake and outfall facility for proposed 6000 MWe Nuclear Power Plant at Mithi Virdi, District Bhavnagar, Gujarat by Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) vide order in F 11-23 /2014-IA- III dated March 3, 2015. The case-appeal in the National Green Tribunal at Western Bench at Pune is filed by Shaktisinh Gohil, Sarpanch of Jasapara; Hajabhai Dihora of Mithi Virdi; Jagrutiben Gohil of Jasapara; Krishnakant and Rohit Prajapati activist of the Paryavaran Suraksha Samiti. The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has issued a notice to the MoEF&CC, Gujarat Pollution Control Board, Gujarat Coastal Zone Management Authority, Atomic Energy Regulatory Board and Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) and case is kept for hearing on August 20, 2015. Appeal No. 23 of 2015 (WZ) is filed, a...

Urgent need to study cause of large number of natural deaths in Gulf countries

By Venkatesh Nayak* According to data tabled in Parliament in April 2018, there are 87.76 lakh (8.77 million) Indians in six Gulf countries, namely Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). While replying to an Unstarred Question (#6091) raised in the Lok Sabha, the Union Minister of State for External Affairs said, during the first half of this financial year alone (between April-September 2018), blue-collared Indian workers in these countries had remitted USD 33.47 Billion back home. Not much is known about the human cost of such earnings which swell up the country’s forex reserves quietly. My recent RTI intervention and research of proceedings in Parliament has revealed that between 2012 and mid-2018 more than 24,570 Indian Workers died in these Gulf countries. This works out to an average of more than 10 deaths per day. For every US$ 1 Billion they remitted to India during the same period there were at least 117 deaths of Indian Workers in Gulf ...

Licy Bharucha’s pilgrimage into the lives of India’s freedom fighters

By Moin Qazi* Book Review: “Oral History of Indian Freedom Movement”, by Dr Licy Bharucha; Pp240; Rs 300; Published by National Museum of Indian Freedom Movement The Congress has won political freedom, but it has yet to win economic freedom, social and moral freedom. These freedoms are harder than the political, if only because they are constructive, less exciting and not spectacular. — Mahatma Gandhi The opening quote of the book by Mahatma Gandhi sums up the true objective of India’s freedom struggle. It also in essence speaks for the multitudes of brave and courageous individuals who aspired to get themselves jailed for the cause of the country’s freedom. A jail term was a strong testimony and credential of patriotism for them. The book has been written by Dr Licy Bharucha, an academically trained political scientist and a scholar of peace studies and Gandhian studies, who was closely associated throughout her life with those who made the struggle for India’s independence the primar...

Budget for 2018-19: Ahmedabad authorities "regularly" under-spend allocation

By Mahender Jethmalani* The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation’s (AMC's) General Body (Municipal Board) recently passed the AMC’s annual budget estimates of Rs 6,990 crore for 2018-19. AMC’s revenue expenditure for the next financial year is Rs 3,500 crore and development budget (capital budget) is Rs 3,490 crore.

Warning bells for India: Tribal exploitation by powerful corporate interests may turn into international issue

By Ashok Shrimali* Warning bells are ringing for India. Even as news drops in from Odisha that Adivasi villages, one after another, are rejecting the top UK-based MNC Vedanta's plea for mining, a recent move by two senior scholars Felix Padel and Samarendra Das suggests the way tribals are being exploited in India by powerful international and national business interests may become an international issue. In fact, one has only to count days when things may be taken up at the United Nations level, with India being pushed to the corner. Padel, it may be recalled, is a major British authority on indigenous peoples across the world, with several scholarly books to his credit.

UP tribal woman human rights defender Sokalo released on bail

By A Representative After almost five months in jail, Adivasi human rights defender and forest worker Sokalo Gond has been finally released on bail.Despite being granted bail on October 4, technical and procedural issues kept Sokalo behind bars until November 1. The Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP) and the All India Union of Forest Working People (AIUFWP), which are backing Sokalo, called it a "major victory." Sokalo's release follows the earlier releases of Kismatiya and Sukhdev Gond in September. "All three forest workers and human rights defenders were illegally incarcerated under false charges, in what is the State's way of punishing those who are active in their fight for the proper implementation of the Forest Rights Act (2006)", said a CJP statement.

Gujarat agate worker, who fought against bondage, died of silicosis, won compensation

Raju Parmar By Jagdish Patel* This is about an agate worker of Khambhat in Central Gujarat. Born in a Vankar family, Raju Parmar first visited our weekly OPD clinic in Shakarpur on March 4, 2009. Aged 45 then, he was assigned OPD No 199/03/2009. He was referred to the Cardiac Care Centre, Khambhat, to get chest X-ray free of charge. Accordingly, he got it done and submitted his report. At that time he was working in an agate crushing unit of one Kishan Bhil.

Search This Blog