Havoc in Uttarakhand

– Dr Arvind Kumar, President, India Water Foundation, New Delhi.

Widespread landslides and flash floods triggered by recent torrential rains in Uttarakhand have wreaked havoc in terms of loss of human lives and destrucion of property. Large parts of the Himalayan state were cut off and left hundreds of tourists and pilgrims stranded, including on the Mansarovar route.

As many as 170 major and minor roads had been severely damaged, leading to complete disruption of traffic in the mountainous districts of Chamoli, Uttarkashi, Bageshwar, Nainital, Almora, Tehri Garhwal and Pithoragarh districts.

Even the main road connecting the plains to the popular hill station Nainital had to be closed to traffic, while the Delhi-Dehradun and Mussoorie route was also badly damaged.

Hundreds of tourists and pilgrims were stranded in different places including the Mansarovar route. Several Mansarovar tourists were halted in Pithoragarh and advised not to proceed further. Earlier, the rising waters of the gigantic reservoir of Tehri dam had already submerged or inundated a large number of low-lying villages in Uttar Kashi district.
While both power and drinking water supply was adversely affected in large parts of the hilly districts, extensive damage to crop was reported in the rich vast plains across Udham Singh Nagar and Haridwar districts.

The state which draws lakhs of tourists every year from different corners of the country and abroad to the popular pilgrimage centres – Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamunotri – was avoided by them in the wake of heavy rains and floods. The scene in the interior and far-flung areas was much worse as disruption of movement on the roads had seriously affected the supply of essential commodities, including fuel, vegetables, and even bread.

According to media reports more than 170 people had been reported dead and 68 missing since the outbreak of the current monsoon in June.

Rescue work being carried out at Deoli in Almora district after a cloudburst on Sunday.

Flood affected area of Uttarakhand

Centre’s Help Sought

In the wake of vast damage caused by torrential rains and flash fllods, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank urged the Central government to provide a special assistance package of Rs.21,000 crore to enable the flood-ravaged state to spring back to its feet. The BJP leader L.K. Advani who visited the state also called upon the Central Government to render special assistance package for the Uttarakhand to meet the calamity.

However, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh announced Rs.500 crore in assistance to the flood-affected Uttarakhand, a day after Congress president Sonia Gandhi sought a liberal package. The interim assistance would be in addition to the money given already to the State Disaster Response Fund. An inter-ministerial team was constituted to visit the State to assess the damage. Based on its assessment, further assistance would be considered.

A Resilient State
The people of Uttarakhand are brave and courageous. The people and the government are determined to tide over the current crisis and continue state ’s onward march to progress. The Chief Minister of Uttarakhand Ramesh Pokhriyal toured most of the remote areas like Munsiyari in the Pithoragarh district and Purola in the Uttarkashi district. I even trekked to reach some of the villages where the devastation was huge. The devastation caused by the heavy rains is not only immense but unprecedented also. According to broad estimates, it will take at least two to three years to rebuild the damaged infrastructure.

In a recent media interview, Chief Minister of Uttarakhand stated that his government has sought a package of Rs 21,000-22,000 crore to bring the state back on track. A Central team was expected to visit the affected areas to make a final assessment. He said: “We have already got Rs 500 crore as an interim relief from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh who has agreed to extend all possible help and support.”

On being asked about the criticism that the package sought by Uttarakhand was on the higher side and there was a lot of politics about it, especially when comparisons were being made with Uttar Pradesh which had demanded a relief package of only Rs 1,000 crore, Chief Minister of Uttarakhand replied: “We have assessed our damage which has come to around Rs 22,000 crore. How the Uttar Pradesh government assesses the situation is not our concern. Moreover, the Central teams will also tour Uttarakhand and assess the extent of damage caused by the heavy rains.”

With regard to the extent of damage caused to industry due to floods, the Chief Minister of Uttarakhand that the main forcus of his government was on extending relief to people affected by heavy rains: “As of now, industry is not on the agenda. Even if there are losses, we have not received such complaints. I am telling you: The main focus is on relief work. Industry will come later.”

While elaborating the steps being undertaken by his government to meet the expectations of the affected people, The Chief Minister said: “From our side, we are trying hard to heal the wounds. We put our men and machinery on high alert soon after the catastrophe hit the state, especially during those harrowing days of September 18 and 19. We tried our best to minimise the damage by taking up relief and rescue measures on a war footing. You will be surprised to know that we were able to save the precious lives of over 32,000 people. Besides, we have already increased our relief amount.”