Love failed to conquer caste barriers in Uttarakhand

Ketan Lal's brutal murder reflect caste realities of 'Devbhumi'

Vidya Bhushan Rawat

The state of Uttarakhand which is known as 'Devbhumi' too means abode of gods, saw a brutal and barbaric murder of a Dalit youth who was in a relationship with a girl happened to belong to a dominant caste girl which is strictly prohibited according to traditional customs and practices. A young boy Ketan Lal aged about 18 years, from Shilpkar community, yes it is the known name for the Dalits in Uttarakhand, was called by his girl friend who happened to belong to a Rajput community, to her home in the middle of night, in Tehri town. Ketan's brahmin friend Diwakar Dimri took him to girl's house on his bike where both were caught by girl's father Yashvir Singh Panwar and his father and locked up in the room. Both were beaten up but the main beating was kept for Ketan. After the brutal and merciless beating. According to a report in the Hindustan Times five important find out of the Ketan's report.

Deep bruises on victim's body, covering his back, chest, and limbs.

Pliers were used to pluck the teenager's fingernails and toenails.

Nails were driven into his feet.

Severe injuries were caused to his genitals.

Both victim and his friend assaulted with sticks

There is outrage everywhere due to the amount of brutality in this case. The police as usual has arrested the accused Yashvir Singh Panwar and his father. It is reported that Ketan's friend Diwakar too has been beaten mercilessly and admitted to the hospital in Rishikesh though many people have doubt about it as they feel Diwakar might have been a conduit of Yashvir Panwar to bring Ketan to his home. Sad part is that caste polarisation is so much that people have lost all their senses. Let the police investigate the case honestly and look at all the angles in it. Diwakar should be provided protection as he is a crucial witness to the incident and must be knowing details of the case.

The problem in Uttarakhand is that the cases filed under the SCST prevention act rarely go till the final stage. This is actually the situation in most of India. I have seen some of the cases in Uttar Pradesh where the attempt of the government and the so called lawyers is to get the family 'compensation'. As the cases move slow the people lose interest and families are destined to accept the dirty reality that everything move slowly.

The violence against Dalits or the caste discrimination in the so called Devbhumi is extremely high and need special attention. I have always mentioned that if Uttarakhand can get rid of the criminal and monsterous caste discrimination, it could really become a 'Devbhumi' but as long as it function proudly on brahmanical docterines of hierarchical system, it would be heading for social unrest in future.

The main issue is how far the Uttarakhand politicians and civil society take interest in it. Will they stand up with candles and come in the street to decry this criminal and barbaric act. We know that violence against Dalits never make a main news in Uttarakhand. Many temples in Jaunsar still dont give entry to them. SC ST act is never implemented in the district as technically entire Jaunsar region is declared as Scheduled Tribe area. So violence in this region against Dalit is extremely high and most of the time never reported in the media.

Political activist Jagadish Chandra who belonged to a Shilpkar community, was murdered by his father in law in Almora who was against his relationship with daughter. The brutal murder took place around 1st September 2022 in Almora but so far we dont know where is the case. This is absolute criminality that there are no special courts in Uttarakhand. It is time government form special courts in the state and give a time frame to finish these cases.

While these cases are not new or surprising as India has not yet become a casteless society. Caste has become the easiest tool for moblisation and the political class find it easier. Inter caste marriages are highly unwanted and most of the time a challenge to purity of the caste system. Baba Saheb Ambedkar actually felt that intercaste marriages could be a way out to strengthen unity among people but today the governments are making laws to ensure people dont challenge caste hierarchy. All laws are being made in such a way that individuals dont have the right to decide about their future. Our marriage system is highly hypocratic and never respect the individuals and their choices.

Ketan is murdered. This is not the first murder for loving a person and it will definitely not be the last. It is not the only case in India. Right from Himalayas till Bay of Bengal and deep down Kanyakumari in Tamilnadu, India has one biggest unainimity in the caste crime against Dalits. I call it hate crime.

The problem is that one is not sure whether the girl loved him or not as callling him to her house in the mid of night was definitely a trap so she must be investigated. I have seen many places where girls actually compromise with their families. I have tremendous respect for Kowsalya, the brave woman from Coimbatore whose husband Sankar was brutally murdered by her parents because he was Dalit while Kowsalya belonged to powerful backward community. Kowsalya decided to stay with her parents in laws and strengthen them. She fought valiantly and ensured that her parents get the death penlty. She faced ostracisation from society but she challenged the brahmanical patriarchy. Today, she has dedicated her life for the cause of women's rights in Tamilnadu.

Uttarakhand has seen several cases of violence against Dalits in the past too. I mention a few of them here.

1.     1. Jagadish Chandra was a political Activist who married to his friend who was in love with. This is the case from Almora and happened on around September 1^st, 2022. Nobody knows as what is the status of the case in the court and where is the woman who loved him ? You dont hear anything from her.

2.    35 years old Sohan Ram, a Dalit was beheaded by the Brahmin teacher Lalit Karnatak on August 7, 2016 in Pithoragarh. It more than 10 years and we need to know what is the final outcome of this case. Also important to know what rehabilitation methods were adopted for the family of late Shri Sohan Ram.

3. 3.      A Dalit man Jeetendra was murdered in Shrikot Tehri Garhwal for simply eating food at a wedding along with otherupper caste invitees on May 6^th, 2019. It was reported that 7 persons were booked under the SC-ST Prevention of Atrocities act. Where is the case today ? What is the condition of Jeetendra’s family.

Interestingly, a case had come to the Supreme Court last year related to insulting a person from Scheduled Caste community. A Supreme Court bench headed by Justice Hemant Gupta actually declared that if a person from SC community is 'insulted' inside a houses or in the private domain which no outsider has seen or not at public place then it is not fit to be called a caste crime and can not be filed under SCST Prevention of Atrocities Act. The cases popularly known as Hitesh Verma verses State of Uttarakhand, in which the court actually quashed the FIR filed against the accused by the person belonging to the Scheduled Caste community suggesting that a case of insult or intimidation against Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe  cannot be made unless committed in a public space and in public view. The crisis in India is getting much deeper as neither the media nor the judiciary seems to feel the urgency to address the issue of social justice and caste discrimination.

Hence it is important to understand and see whether the girl who called Ketan to her house stand up and speak ? Will the Uttarakhand police act honestly in this case and take it to a logical conclusion. It depend on how Uttarakhand's political parties, civil society and media act on this issue and does not forget it after some time. So far the record of the state apparatus in the matter of violence against Dalits in the state has been extremely poor and does not reflect any hope but we must put pressure. Devbhumi must become an insanbhumi and should not remain caged to the narrow confines of the brutal brahmanical hierarchical caste system. It is time to hit at it and follow the constitutional morality where each individual has a right to have his or her own choice. Will India ever allow this ? Talks of 'biggest' 'democracy' sound too hollow. Let us see how the administration and state government act on this case. Ketan must get justice and we must not hide the names and jaatis of people who do it. If we dont want jaatis to be generalised then the time has come for these jaatis to speak up against this culture of violence and disown such criminal minds from the community.

Dharali exposes the politics of reckless exploitative model of 'development'.

Need to pose uncomfortable questions to the power

 

Vidya Bhushan Rawat

The avalanche that swept away the entire village of Dharali in the Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand on August 5th, 2025, has exposed the severely polarised Indian opinion making class apart from the political leadership of various parties which actually behave as if it happened for the first time and wont hit again. There are different sides of this being reported to us.  On the one side is the 'national media' which I have always described as Manustream media, a PR agency of the ruling party at the Centre which exploit the event as a 'Pilpli live' as the live stories of the mass destruction too bring TRPs to these profit mongering companies. The propaganda media these days has always been prioritised over the local ones as they go with all the comfort and state apparatus also take care of them so that they can broadcast the 'breaking news'. The focus is mostly to broadcast live the 'action'. Most of the time, we see JCB machine working or army helicopter transporting the people and then people thanking the government and the officials for providing them 'help'. So, everything is made so overwhelming that nobody has time to ask specific questions to the government. It is definitely good that the government is working over time to provide relief to the people but why is the exact number of people missing or dead is still not known. Why is the government not allowing the local media to cover the event. Why it is gladly providing all the 'services' to the 'national' media. In fact, some of the 'local' media based in Dehradun  too got opportunity to take the video shoot from the top but in this entire exercise, the most important role is being played by what we call 'youtubers' who have largely been ignored but it is they who traversed the hard terrain on foot to bring the unheard stories of the entire area. They walked in treacherous circumstances from Uttarkashi to Dharali and reported. Most of these fellows are not even termed as 'journalists'.  They deserve kudos for their brave efforts to reach Dharali on foot from Uttarkashi particularly when it continued to rain and national high way remained 'national' only for the name sake and had just washed away. These social media reporters or influencers have reported far better than the so called national PR agents who had no time to ask uncomfortable questions. Rather, we are told by every media house as how their reporters were the 'first' to reach 'Dharali'. The only uncomfortable question being posed is that locals have occupied the river bed, built houses and hotels and that is why it happened. Nothing about government policies promoting this rabid mass tourism which resulted in this kind of construction. Who is responsible for authorising them. Will there be any action against the authorities who allowed such construction ? Is there any debate in the government circles about the growing threat of climate crisis and how we need climate friendly solutions. Are they ready to discuss their heavy drilling and excavation of the holy mountains ? And what about our rivers ? Where is the 'developmental dirt' going ? Any idea about the limit of infrastructure for the mass bhakt tourism ? How many tonnes of human excreta and other wastes now flows from the Chardham ? Imagine a fair discussion on those. Nobody deny the religious importance of Uttarakhand and Chardham but that need to be respected. Any planning whether religious or non religious, tourism or developmental must include the issues of local traditions, sentiments as well as the climatic issues. You cant promote mass tourism in the name of religion that disturb the already fragile ecology of the region. We must understand that these zones are not merely have the religious importance but also life line of India. Himalayas feed our rivers and Ganga our heritage that link Himalayas to Sundarbans. That apart, Uttarakhand is a border state and not with one but two countries namely China and Nepal. 

Dharali's tragedy has raised various other  issues too.  And foremost one is the forecasting. Though after the Kedarnath catastrophe in 2013, we heard a lot of noise but nothing much happened except a few warning messages regarding weather but why has it failed to warn people in advance about the possible bursting of Glacial lake or cloud burst.  Why has the authorities not been able to gain the information about the possible Glacial Lake formation in the  upper stretches of the Khirgad. Why have the warning by the scientists not responded positively. Definitely, this lake formation was not a one day affair ? Why cann't this be monitored on a regular basis by take a teaming of experts around the Uttarakhand Himalayas, through specialized army helicopters? The satellite images are important but government too need to do it locally. This incident reminded us that of the Rishiganga-Dhauliganga catastrophe in February 2021 which swept away a power project as well as over 200 labours working in it. 

Actually, Dharali was 'waiting' to happen and it is neither the first one nor the last one which means we have learnt no lesson from it and we will learn nothing. As we build more and more structures without any local framework. Everyone want to have a home stay. Resorts have started in large number. It will come when crores of people are thronging the state for the yatra. The way these yatras have been glamorised would only bring disaster to the Himalayas. 

And we don't discuss the causes and solutions for these. Instead, the so called media as well as others  making a grand spectacle of every event where people report the event like heavy machineries, helicopters being used to ferry people, sniffer dogs, big netas visiting and so on. Some of them even ask the people about what happened and who got lost but not about any assistance to them or what will happen to them. These questions are not asked from the Chief Minister as how will people build their life there. Any plan for rehabilitating the people who lost their everything or will government change its industrial, environmental or other policies regarding the hill regions. That is why the media is put in the service of the master so that these uncomfortable questions remain under the wrap. Uttarakhand disasters are not merely natural but also result of the rackless destructive policies being pursued in the name of development. Is that model sustainable ? Should we not think aloud about protecting and respecting our sacred mountains and rivers. I have said it many time and will continue to say, these mountains and rivers, our Pahad, our Ganga-Gad-Gaderas are our identities and our heritage, definitely not a resource to be exploited.  Stop treading them resources and exploiting it for your commercial greed. 

A few days back, the Supreme Court of India, while hearing a petition, issued a stark warning: “The day is not far when the entire state of Himachal Pradesh may vanish from the map of the country.” The court emphasized the Union of India’s obligation to prevent further ecological imbalance and natural calamities in the state, stating, “Earning revenue is not everything. If things proceed as they are, the consequences will be catastrophic” (Indian Express, August 1^st, 2025). This dire observation underscores the escalating crisis in Himachal Pradesh as well as in Uttarakhand, where unchecked tourism, hydropower projects, and environmental degradation are pushing these Himalayan states toward collapse.

Himachal Pradesh has faced heavy losses due to monsoon-related disasters in 2025. According to the State Emergency Operation Centre, the state incurred damages of ₹1,539 crore since the monsoon began on June 20, 2025. The toll includes 94 deaths, 36 missing, and 1,352 houses fully or partially damaged in rain-related incidents (Indian Express, August 2025). A report by NDTV provides a graver picture, noting 173 deaths, 37 missing, and 115 injuries by August 2, 2025, with 23 flash floods and 19 cloudbursts recorded by July 6, 2025 (NDTV, August 2, 2025). Most deaths were rain-related, with Mandi, Kullu, and Kangra districts bearing the brunt, where 243 roads were blocked, 241 electricity transformers disrupted, and 278 water supply schemes rendered non-functional as per a report published by Times of India, July 7, 2025).

Uttarakhand, often competing with Himachal in disaster frequency, recorded 70 deaths by July 4, 2025, including 20 from natural disasters (landslides, cloudbursts, and floods) and 50 from road accidents, with 9 missing (mostly in Uttarkashi) and 177 injured (Times of India, June 29, 2025). Incidents of cloud burst and landslide continue to pour in in the last couple of weeks resulting in disruption in the Chardham yatra for several days but now Dharali disaster has overtaken everything. It is unprecedented but is a wake up call for all of us. So far we don't know the exact number of the people died or missing.

Unregulated Tourism: A Cultural and Ecological Threat

Both Himalayan states, romanticized as Devbhumi, are reeling under the weight of mass tourism. Uttarakhand welcomed 3.96 crore tourists by July 4, 2025, including 3.94 crore domestic and 1.66 lakh international visitors, with 34.07 lakh pilgrims registered for the Chardham Yatra (13.58 lakh to Kedarnath, 11.52 lakh to Badrinath, 4.97 lakh to Gangotri, 3.99 lakh to Yamunotri) (The Hindu, July 3, 2025; Outlook India, May 16, 2025). Himachal Pradesh recorded 1.4 crore tourists by July 2025, driven by hill stations like Shimla and Manali (Hindustan Times, July 2025). While these numbers boost local economies, they strain fragile ecosystems and infrastructure, exacerbating disaster risks.

The Chardham Yatra, a cornerstone of Uttarakhand’s tourism, has become a symbol of unregulated pilgrimage. By July 2025, 169 pilgrims died due to health issues like cardiac arrest and high blood pressure (78 in Kedarnath, 44 in Badrinath, 24 in Gangotri, 22 in Yamunotri) (Times of India, July 2025). A helicopter crash in April 2025 killed six pilgrims, reflecting the pressure on operators prioritizing profit over safety (The Hindu, July 3, 2025). In Himachal, over-tourism in Kullu-Manali and Shimla has led to traffic congestion and environmental degradation, with tourists littering rivers and flouting local norms (Hindustan Times, June 2025).

As a Pahadi, I see the influx of tourists—often displaying a colonial mindset—threatening our cultural fabric. Young visitors smoke hookahs and drink openly on the banks of the Ganga, while incidents of eve-teasing and disappearances, once rare, are now nightmarish (Deccan Herald, August 2025). The imposition of external cultural practices, including food habits like demanding Maggi, Parathas etc over local delicacies, erodes Pahadi traditions. Some outsiders, backed by political agendas, push a homogenized Hindutva narrative, ignoring the distinct value systems of Himachal and Uttarakhand, where local deities and sustainable practices have long thrived (The Tribune, July 2025). Also it is important to demarcate the religious sentiments from the commercial gains. Actually, last couple of decade, India's ruling elite has exploited religious sentiments for commercial gains. Frankly, india has been converted into a religious economy with flourishing Babas and new places of miracles in the name of devotion and traditions. Himalayan regions are different and you can not treat them with the low line areas where you have huge land track and no issues related to infrastructure development. In the Himalayan regions, these infrastructural development will come at the cost of the Himalayas and their people only. 

Hydropower Projects: Profiting at Nature’s Expense

The Central Government’s push for hydropower, branded as the “potential” of the Himalayas, prioritizes corporate interests over environmental and social costs have been completely exposed now with both the states facing massive disasters though efforts are there to confine the narrative to the 'what happened and when it happened and not why it happened ?  Himachal Pradesh has more than 41 hydropower projects.  A report in Down to Earth Magazine says,

' hydropower projects are being established in high-risk areas of Uttarakhand. These places in the state may fall prey to seismic or climate-related disasters in the coming years. At least 15 such projects with an investment of around Rs 70,000 crore are in high-risk areas of Uttarakhand.

The report by Climate Risk Horizons notes that 81 large hydropower projects of more than 25 MW in Uttarakhand are in the pipeline and 18 projects are in the works. Threats related to extreme climate have created uncertainty over their future.'

(https://www.downtoearth.org.in/dams/extreme-weather-events-can-completely-destroy-hydropower-projects-in-uttarakhand-report)

These projects have destroyed our  rivers as there is no way to keep the muck away from it. Big boulders,stones, concrete everything is silently being thrown into them many times risking the flow of the rivers.  Deforestation, blasting, and sediment disruption  weaken and destabilize the slopes in the high mountains which risk sudden burst resulting in calamities like Dharali.  Have we forgotten what happened in Joshimath where all the structures have faced cracks. The drilling of big mountains for the Hydropower projects is well documented though not much reported now. It seems every one has now forgotten Joshimath. Villagers of Raini had approached the court against threat to their village but no response from the court. In fact, the Uttarakhand High Court even punished the people including the activists with Rupees ten thousand penalty for filing the case. 

Cultural Erosion and “Gujaratification”

The massification of religious tourism has imported lowland practices like Ganga Snan to the Himalayas, where community bathing is rare, and rivers are worshipped, not polluted (The Tribune, July 2025). Loudspeakers, DJs, and drumbeating in Kedarnath disrupt sacred tranquility (The Hindu, July 3, 2025). Cemented structures, mimicking Gujarat’s architectural style, replace Uttarakhand’s unique wooden temples, undermining local craftsmanship and businesses (Deccan Herald, August 2025). The Kanwar Yatra, largely from Haryana and Western Uttar Pradesh, further strains Haridwar’s resources, with no roots in hill traditions (Hindustan Times, July 2025). The people including the priests in holy shrines of Badrinath are protesting against the so called master plan which demolished the local shops and houses of the people living there since their birth. Now, the master plan further concretise the region even at the cost of the traditional methods. Why cant we build our structure as per the suitability of the Himalayas which has  traditional Uttarakhandi imprint on it. Is not it an effort to erase our history and traditional system ?

A Call for Sustainable Development

The Supreme Court’s warning demands action. The government’s policies—promoting mass tourism and hydropower for revenue—have fueled this crisis. If the Court is serious, it must regulate tourist inflows, cap pilgrimage numbers, and halt ecologically harmful projects like the Kishau Dam. Sustainable development requires engaging native pahadi communities to preserve local deities, traditions, and ecosystems. The Himalayas are not a colony for exploitation; they are a sacred, fragile region needing protection.

Both Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh need to introspect a lot, develop their own model and stop this import of 'experts' from outside which actually is a threat to the local traditions and cultural practice under the pretext of development that remained exploitative in nature and unsustainable. While, I would not ask for stoppage of all the hydropower projects or existing programme, I would definitely call for a moratorium on any future planning that hurt our rivers and mountains.

Dharali, Manali, Kulu, Mandi, Reni continues to happen not due to the crisis brought by the local Pahadis but definitely the exploitative nature of developmental model being pursued in the Himalayas by the political elite in connivance with the greedy corporate who shamelessly exploit the religious sentiments of the people, for their personal profiteering even if it damage local ecology and environment. Stop this mindless exploitation of the Himalayas. Perhaps, the only way is now to declare the hill regions under the Schedule V or Schedule VI areas to protect the land being sold to outsiders and stop this commercial greed as well as protect the rights of local communities. A climate friendly solution to this crisis is only possible with inclusive engagement with native people of Uttarakhand and completely halt any future project that endanger Himalayas, its rivers and communities which live around and protect it.

Himalaya ki Ganga : Story of Bhojwasa

 This is the story of Bhojwasa located at an altitude of 3,800 meters above the sea level. Bhojwasa is the camp site on the Gangotri Gaumukh trek, just four kilometer before Gaumukh, the source of Bahgirathi. There is no habitat here except for a Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam Guest House and Lal Baba Ashram. Facilities remain extremely modest so anyone visiting here must have prior arrangements for the basic needs and food facilities. The passage is out for public after the closure of the Gangotri Dham Temple immediately after Dipwali and again open for public in April.

The Dharali tragedy and the future of Uttarakhand

Vidya Bhushan Rawat

The devastation brought by the massive #FlashFlood2025 at the Khirganga gad in #Dharali is heartbreaking. It was a beautiful village just on the high way and with easy access to tranquil #Bhagirathi. The village actually falls in #Harsil valley and one of the most beautiful regions surrounded by the snow clad peaks and stunning view of Bhagirathi. Many other small streams flows into Bhagirathi in and around these places.

There is a small market where people would stop over and have their meal before moving to #gangotridham or while returning from there. Though Harsil was a more famous village, the fact is Dharali's location and surrounding made it look better. The distance between the two is about 6- kilometers. There is an ancient temple #kalpkedar slightly towards the river side. The simple looking #khirganga which is actually a gad or gadera, a natural stream from the high mountain passing through its natural flow and emptying at the Bhagirathi. In fact, history shows, that the biggest devastation in the hills have always been brought by these Gads and Gaderas and the reason for this is that most of the time they look miner stream so much of their natural space is occupied by the new concrete jungle being erected so fast in the #himalayas.

Look at this video of Khir-Gad at Dharali on a normal day. I took this video a couple of years back when I was going to Gangotri. I had an opportunity to stay at Harsil and had my lunch at Dharali.

The pressure of #ChardhamYatra is enormous on the state where extending infrastructure is difficult and 'bhakts' always blame that they dont get cheap and comfortable stay. The Indian tourists want the facilities of their home everywhere. Even if they go to #kedarnath or #Gangotri they seek the same facilities. Now they threaten too claiming that it is because of them the economy of #uttarakhand function.

The #cloudburst theory is not widely being accepted by the scientists who suggest that the rains were not heavy in the region including Harsil, #Mukhba and #gangotridham. Times of India reported that it might be the case of #glaciallakeoutburst which create the most dangerous situation for the nearby locations. So far there are about 1266 glacial lakes in Uttarakhand state and 13 are considered to be high risk, the newspaper reported.

Several years back, we saw the massive devastation caused by the Glacial Lake burst at #nandadevimassif resulting in the tragedy at the #RishiGanga #Dhauliganga confluence near village #Reni, the historic epicentre of #Chipkomovement.

Right now, reports are also coming in of possible formation of a artificial lake on Bhagirathi near Harsil army base which too faced devastation due to flash flood. Army is already there active in the rescue operation despite its own problems in the area.

As reports coming in that Dharali is completely cut off from the rest of the country. The rescue teams which were dispatched have been stuck in between as more and more reports of landslide and caving in of the National High way at different places are coming in. In 2024, the government gave permission for broadening of the Gangotri High way from Harsil to Gangotri against all the environmental norms. The local protested against the same as thousands of Deodar trees were earmarked for cutting and felling to make way for the National High way. The report of local's resistance to broadening of this road has been carried out in The Hindustan Times on August 29,2024. It says, ' “We have come across the forest clearance applications that the BRO has made. Firstly, the entire road widening project in the eco-sensitive zone is in violation of the Ravi Chopra committee’s findings and warnings. Secondly, BRO has claimed these stretches are not in eco-sensitive zone. How is that possible? We also want our road to be in good condition but we do not want further loss of precious forests. This area is extremely prone to landslides. Locals are already suffering. We have met the district magistrate also regarding our concerns,” said Pushpa Chauhan, former gram pradhan, Bhatwari and entrepreneur.

Sadly, all this is happening in the reason which was declared by the Central government as Eco Sensitive Zone in 2010. The 135 kilometer stretch from Uttarkashi to Gaumukh is extremely fragile Eco sensitive zone and equally important for the Hindus who revere Maa Ganga and travel to its source at Gaumukh. The final notification of it came in 2012 and was termed as 'anti developmental' by many politicians. Now, the government has started 'developmental' work again and we face the fury of nature.

Just a few days, Supreme Court actually feared that #himachalpradesh would vanish from the map if the government does not act and the warning was equally important for the state of Uttarakhand state too. Both the states have faced severe disaster in the last few years. With rapid urbanisation and inflow of tourists from outside, the pressure to develop new infrastructure has resulted in homes being converted into 'Stayhomes' and with the mushrooming of hotels and resorts everywhere, we see an encouragement in the name of 'employment' generation. With no employment in the sight, the only opportunity to earn a few bucks is during the CharDham Yatra but that too has not helped the locals who do the maximum menial work while the big bosses of these resort and hotels are in Delhi and Chandigarh.

Many years ago, Supreme Court had asked government not allow any houses or resort with in 100 meters of the river bed. A PIB release in 2021 actually provided details of the NGT order in this regard. It says, 'Further vide its order dated 15.12.2017, Hon’ble NGT has directed that no construction would be permitted in the Flood Plain in consonance with the judgement of the Tribunal in the case of Indian Council for Enviro-Legal Action Vs. National Ganga River Basin Authority & Ors. Hon’ble NGT reiterated that in the area falling within 50 mtrs from edge of the river in the hilly terrain, no construction would be permitted, nor any other activity carried out and it shall be treated as Prohibitory Zone. Beyond 50 mtrs and up to 100 mtrs in the hilly terrain it shall be treated as Regulatory Zone. Regulatory activity shall be notified by the State and till that time there shall be no construction activity permitted in that area. Once the river enters the plain or even hilly areas where width of the river is more than 70 mtrs, in that event area of 100 mtrs from the edge of the river shall be treated as Prohibitory Zone while 100 mtrs to 300 mtrs would be treated as Regulatory Zone and till the time the State notifies the restricted activities, there shall be no construction activity even in the Regulatory Zone.'

Things are not same in Uttarakhand where massive concretisation process continue unabated. Hydropower projects, drilling of mountains, unregulated mass tourism in the name of Chardham Yatra added with Kanwar Yatra are only adding enormous pressure on mountains. In the name of yatra, we have promoted the cheap mass tourism which is least bothered about the sentiments of the hill people as well as respecting the sensitivities of the mountains. The result is most of these sacred spaces have now become a 'religious picnic spot' with political leaders want more and more people to pour in. Kedarnath, which cant host over 1000 people actually host 20 to 30 time more pilgrims on a daily basis resulting in the collapse of the infrastructure.

We do understand the need for development but cant we need to protect them too. Himalayas are our border, our safety and security. They are feed us through various rivers including Ganga which liberate us even after our deaths. It is important that government think over these seriously. Protect Himalayas will only happen with our respect for nature. No need to think that human being can achieve anything or can win over everything. The whole idea of winning over nature will only bring disaster as we are witnessing.

Ganga and our sacred rivers as well as our mountains are not asking us anything. They only need our respect. Why cant we do that. We cant this be treated our heritage and declared heritage zone. Regulate the Yatra. Stop mindless construction. No construction on river bed. Has there been any implementation of the NGT order ? Just travel to a few places even in the low land areas of Gangas in Uttarakhand and you will find resort and hotels on the river bed. Who gave them permission. Everytime, we say a wake up call but nothing happen.

We hope the Dharali disaster will wake us our political class who decide our future. Let the government follow its own guidelines Gangotri Zone as Eco Sensitive Zone. Stop mindless broadening of the highway as well as constructions of hotels, resorts and hydropower projects.

Right now, we wish protection and safety for all those who are suffering in this enormous tragedy. It has been extremely painful to hear all this yesterday. I happened to pass through these places, spent some time in the beautiful locales. Our condolences with those who lost their near dear ones and big salute to all those workers from the armed forces, NDRF and SDRF who have been working day and night to protect innocent lives. The people of Uttarakhand deserve better. Hope government respect the eco sensitivity of the region and plan its policies accordingly.

We need to develop a harmonious relationship with nature to live peacefully with it. The massive devastation has exposed our developmental model. It is a wake up call. Respect our rivers, mountains and nature by protecting their sanctity and stop your futile attempt to score a victory over nature. Time to accept that no human power can control nature and the more you try to damage nature the biggest will the repercussions for the humanity.