The carrying capacity may change the concept of Devbhoomi, the sound of the groaning of the mountain remains unheard in the glitter and glamour

Uttarkashi has been a centre of natural beauty and religious faith since ancient times, but continuous earthquakes and major disasters have shaken it repeatedly. It is the origin of two major rivers Ganga and Yamuna and has also been the source of many religious beliefs. The tributaries of Ganga include Asi Ganga, Ranon ki Gad, Ganganaani as well as Kheer Ganga.

This time the fierce form of Kheer Ganga has been seen. If the old people are to be believed, this was the old route of Kheer Ganga in 1978, so it merged with Bhagirathi, washing away everything. Uttarkashi has always been in a sensitive zone. Despite this, the standards were arbitrarily relaxed and the construction was not even monitored.

When the earthquake struck Uttarkashi in 1991, there was a long debate on construction as per the master plan and building earthquake-resistant houses, but nothing happened on the ground. There were incidents of cloudburst in 2012 and then in 2023 as well. Which indicated to be cautious and keep distance from the rivers. Governments and courts played their role on the decision to keep distance from rivers but encroachments were not removed from the river banks.

The number of mountain cracks is increasing

Constructions are being made against the norms in the river path and in the catchment area. It is not just about this place in Uttarkashi where multi-storey buildings were built to show the view of the river. Neglect is there in the entire mountain. The same is the condition of cities like Chamoli, Rudraprayag, Srinagar which are getting settled on the banks of the river. Now the order of the High Court that no construction should be done within 200 meters of the river needs to be strictly implemented.

Whenever Uttarakhand wants to get up and run on the path of progress, the sting of disaster pushes it back. The number of mountain cracks is continuously increasing in the state, the flow of rivers is eager to change its path and flow arbitrarily. The decreasing number of trees holding all this together is once again giving an open warning to the responsible people of more big destruction. Now the time has come to test the bearing capacity of the mountains and to test the standards of development on the basis of the hill state. Otherwise the perception of the country and the world about Devbhoomi may change.

In the last few years, more construction has been done in the hill districts than in the plains of Uttarakhand. By levelling the shape of the mountains and cutting trees indiscriminately, the load of cement and iron rods is being put on them. It may happen that such cities carrying excessive load come down with a large population. In the name of development, the groaning sound of the mountains is going unheard in the glitz and glamour of all the hotels showing the view of rivers and valleys.