Protecting the Himalayan Devbhoomi is the need of the hour | newsforum
(Uttarakhand has emerged as the Himalayan Devbhoomi and has developed into a center of Hindu pilgrimage but natural disasters are making it destructive. Given the recent ecological fragilities over the past decade, safeguarding people as well as safeguarding heritage sites Long-term crisis response mechanisms and solutions need to keep up.)
©Priyanka Saurabh, Hisar (Haryana)
{ Research Scholar in Political Science, Poetess, Independent journalist and columnist, All India Radio and TV Penalist }
The scientific community is still struggling to understand what behinds the floods caused by the bursting of a glacier in the Chamoli district of Uttarakhand. The answer lies in history as well as on current developmental issues, we cannot deny this.
A study of the archaeological record and archival evidence shows that various agents and processes played an important role in gradually transforming the Dev Bhoomi into a sacred landscape. Artifacts found in the foothills of the Himalayas that span the period 300 BCE and 600 CE indicate deep contact between the Gangetic plains and communities living in the foothills. The development over time developed Haridwar and Kalsi as metropolitan cities and as “gateways” to the Himalayas.
Eventually, in the seventh century, a regional tradition of stone temple architecture began in the Uttarakhand Himalayas. The earliest pilgrimage sites of this tradition were built at Palathi and Lakhamandal, upstream from Haridwar and Kalsi. Additionally, both Badrinath and Kedarnath are associated with Adi Shankaracharya, who is said to have visited him in the eighth century. Probably his followers played a role in the construction of temples at Pandukeshwar, where medieval edicts built in the Dravidian and Nagar modes stood side by side.
Uttarakhand is situated amid young and unstable mountains and is subject to intense rainfall. The 2013 floods and flash floods in Kedarnath that swept into the Alaknanda Valley earlier. These distractions suggest that the Handed Development in the name of God can bring a terrifying scene. Over the years geologists, glaciologists and climatologists have voiced their fears about the disaster caused by climate change, rapid and indiscriminate construction activities, and subsequent ecological destruction in the region. Experts identified large scale deforestation as a possible trigger for the expansion of human settlements and agricultural activities.
The Hindu Kush Himalaya Evaluation Report (2019) had reported that one-third of the glacier of the Hindu Kush Himalayas would melt by 2100 even after the completion of all commitments under the Paris Agreement. It also warned that any ecologically destructive activities could lead to high-intensity disasters such as landslides. Experts and activists have consistently asked for an investigation into the construction of hydropower projects in Uttarakhand. An Expert Committee led by Dr. Ravi Chopra set up to assess the role of dams in the floods caused by the floods, providing hard evidence on how much damage the region is suffering from heavy construction of the dams.
The need of the hour now is to invest in long-term crisis response mechanisms and resilience solutions. Some immediate resilience plans include, in particular, implementing flood prevention and road stabilization techniques and strengthening existing structures such as bridges, culverts, and tunnels, strengthening embankments with adequate scientific know-how, re-development of hydropower and other public infrastructure Doing, investing in a robust monitoring and early warning system, establishing enforceable policies and regulatory guidelines to prohibit harmful human activities, including responsible environmental and religious tourism policies, to effectively prevent and manage risks To educate and empower communities, it is extremely important to invest in training and capacity building.
The time for wake-up calls is far behind us. India is in dire need to restore and rebuild a resilient future for Uttarakhand. Uttarakhand has emerged as the Himalayan Devbhoomi and it has developed the center of Hindu pilgrimage but natural disasters are making it destructive. Given the recent ecological fragilities over the past decade, it is time to have long-term crisis response mechanisms and solutions to protect people as well as to protect heritage sites.
