Latest news with #KalpKedar
NDTV
4 days ago
- General
- NDTV
NDTV Ground Report: No Land, Papers, Dharali Villagers Stare At Bleak Reality
Still reeling from the trauma of losing her home in Tuesday's flash floods, Sushila silently cooks for 150 others at a relief camp at Someshwar temple in Uttarakhand's Dharali village. "We have no house, no land, no clothes. We are speechless," she said, while urging the government to provide them with housing. At the temple's relief camp, all those staying have lost all they had when a cloudburst led to a flash flood, sweeping through Dharali, burying homes, vehicles and even a legendary temple under metres of debris. Four died, while many are missing. Multiple authorities as well as the Indian Army are working together to conduct search and rescue operations. Balvinder Singh Pawar's escape from the cascading sheet of debris was caught in viral videos, where he was in a visibly injured condition but fighting the flood's strong current to crawl out of rubble. "I saw death and I didn't think I would come alive. The only two scenarios in front of me were getting trapped under one of the collapsing houses or getting swept by the debris rolling towards me at great speed," he told NDTV. Mr Pawar does not know what happened to the two people he saw stuck in the current as he struggled towards safety. he escaped with bruises and injuries, a prominent one on his eye. He remembered the Kalp Kedar temple, a Shiva temple where he prayed every day, which was now part of the debris. "I don't think the village will be the same again. We are out of the energy and courage. We have nothing left. People who have lost their young children haven't even been able to deal with the trauma yet," he said. On a personal mission is Sushil, a boy who came from Nepal, to look for his father and six other family members who were in Dharali at the time of the disaster. "He called me and said 'save me, son. I am drowning in debris'. The phone disconnected after that and I was unable to connect with him," he recalled. Under the thousands of tons of debris are also the many hotels in the village. NDTV's visit to the flash flood-affected area found that only marsh, mud and boulders remained where buildings once stood. As the search and rescue operations continue with full momentum, forces have deployed sniffer dogs and drones to aid their efforts. Over 500 people have been rescued so far. According to residents of nearby villages, like Mukhba, who witnessed the disaster, the number of missing is likely to be higher as locals and labourers from Bihar and Nepal were working at under-construction hotels and there were guests in about two dozen big hotels in Dharali when the disaster struck. Dharali is the main stopover on the way to Gangotri, from where the Ganga originates, abounding in hotels, homestays, restaurants and guest houses.
Indian Express
5 days ago
- Climate
- Indian Express
In Uttarkashi, the cost of climate denial: When science is silenced, disasters speak
Three climate-related catastrophes devastated a short scenic stretch of the upper Bhagirathi (Ganga) river valley in Uttarkashi district on August 5. They devastated Dharali — a pretty Himalayan town along the Bhagirathi about 20 km before Gangotri, a portion of Harshil, six kilometres downstream, known for its apple orchards, and some nearby settlements, according to initial reports. In the evening, the Central Water Commission released a brief disaster report. It described the first incident, around 1:00 pm, as a suspected cloudburst flood, 'severely damaging' much of Dharali, sweeping away residential houses, shops and possibly affecting many people gathered in the town for a mela. A second cloudburst occurred around 3:00 pm in a small mountain stream valley, downstream of Harsil. A third flood, at 3:30 pm, submerged the Harshil helipad that could affect later relief efforts. About 100 Army personnel, assisted by The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and local police teams began prompt rescue operations. Later, a Dehradun-based IMD officer denied the occurrence of a cloudburst in Uttarkashi district. News media revealed that a 50-60 ft-deep debris flood had submerged Dharali's bazaar, about 20-25 hotels and homestays, and the much venerated, ancient Kalp Kedar temple. The district administration reported four deaths and about 60 to 70 missing, including about nine Army personnel. Detailed damage assessments are continuing. Late at night, Navin Juyal, Uttarakhand's most intrepid geological scientist, provided a scientific explanation of the disaster on his YouTube channel. The affected Dharali stretch lies at the base of a steep slope covered with towering deodar trees, amid rocks and boulders brought down by small mountain streams and frequent avalanches. The trees arrest the avalanches and their roots stabilise the slopes. Several cirques or 'hanging glaciers' – hollowed glacial ledges full of rocks, boulders and other debris left behind by receding glaciers in the past – dot the crests of the slopes. Five or six small streams emerge from these cirques and rush down the slopes. These streams can create havoc during periods of intense summer monsoon rains. Rising temperatures on the high crests melt the winter snows that quickly form massive avalanches, along with ice, rain water and the glacial moraines, as they rush down the stream valleys. The recent catastrophes were due to three such avalanches, all within 2.5 hours, Juyal explained. In 2012, the Union government had notified the Gaumukh to Uttarkashi watershed of the Bhagirathi as an Eco-Sensitive Zone (BESZ). This was to preserve its pristine areas and regulate infrastructural activities in the region. Later central and state governments, however, have been lax in enforcing the regulations, despite the strenuous efforts by some members of an MoEF&CC appointed monitoring committee. With the governments ignoring the BESZ notification, the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) prepared plans to widen the National Highway in the BESZ to accommodate Gangotri's summer tourist traffic. In 2020, Juyal, as a member of the Supreme Court directed High Powered Committee (HPC) to investigate the construction of the Char Dham highway, warned his committee colleagues, BRO engineers and senior Uttarakhand and central government officials of the high probability of repeated future avalanches due to global warming and climate changes. In 2020, in its final report to the Supreme Court, the HPC recommended that the sensitive slopes not be disturbed. To protect the BESZ, particularly to conserve the deodar forest stretch, it recommended that an elevated highway stretch closer to the riverside be considered as an alternative to widening the highway. It would minimise felling of the deodar trees. Highway authorities have not only ignored the HPC recommendations, they have marked 6,000 precious deodar trees to be cut down. Mountain researchers have been studying and issuing warnings for decades now, in print and at high-level conferences where decision-makers are participants, that the Himalayan region is more vulnerable to climate change than most other parts of the Indian subcontinent. They have identified specific sensitive areas in the Himalaya and the policies and actions needed to avoid disasters or minimise their impacts. They have pointed out that HEPs should not be built in para-glacial regions, human settlements and built structures be located at safe distances from flood-prone rivers, particularly small mountain streams that can suddenly turn treacherous, road widening along slopes steeper than 30 degrees should be avoided, and that carrying-capacity studies are desperately needed in the Himalayan towns and cities. Senior government officials pay lip service to these recommendations but do nothing to implement them. The warning bells of the Kedarnath tragedy (2013), destruction of the Tapovan-Vishnugad hydro-electric project by the Raunthi Gad avalanche (2021), fissures in the ground and buildings in Joshimath (2023), glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF) in the Teesta valley (2023) and the repeated monsoonal landslides and floods in Himachal Pradesh are ignored by decision-makers in their headlong drive to push unsustainable infrastructure development in ecologically and geologically sensitive areas. As the saying goes, 'You can't wake a person who is pretending to be asleep.' It is long past time for Indian citizens, bewitched by images of rapid economic growth, real for some but dreams for many, to wake up to the warning bells of climate change and demand safer, sustainable and equitable economic growth. Recognising and respecting nature's boundaries is our safest, most logical route to survival and economic development. The writer is a former director of the People's Science Institute, Dehradun. He headed two Supreme Court nominated committees to investigate the Kedarnath flood (2013) and the Char Dham Pariyojana (2019-2022)
Hans India
6 days ago
- General
- Hans India
Ancient Kedar temple buried
Uttarkashi: The ancient Kalp Kedar temple was buried in the debris brought over by the flash flood in the Kheer Ganga river. The temple remained buried under ground for many years, possibly due to a previous disaster, with only its tip visible over ground. Built in the Kature style, the architecture of the Shiva temple is similar to that of Kedarnath Dham. An excavation led to its discovery in 1945.
New Indian Express
7 days ago
- New Indian Express
Uttarkashi cloudbursts: Khirganga destroys Dharali in 34 seconds; experts blame man-made disaster
Amidst the ongoing relief and rescue efforts, environmentalists, social workers, and historians have expressed deep concern over the disaster, appealing to the government to learn crucial lessons from it. Historian and author Jai Singh Rawat told TNIE that the Khirganga, a tributary of the Bhagirathi, has a long history of destructive floods. "Emerging from the Srikant peak, the Khirganga has been notorious for its devastating floods," he stated, recalling a 19th-century deluge that buried 240 temples, once part of the Kalp Kedar temple arena. Subsequent floods in 2013 and 2018 also caused significant damage. "While its waters appear calm, the river holds a history far more terrifying," Rawat added. Rawat further elaborated that Dharali once housed a cluster of 240 Katuri-style temples, documented by English traveller James William Fraser in 1816. These too were swallowed by a catastrophic Khirganga flood in the early 19th century. Subsequent floods, including a major one in 2013 and another in August 2018, saw Khirganga overflowing with debris, breaching flood protection walls and inundating over 50 hotels and homes. The 2018 event also partially buried the ancient Kalp Kedar temple and severely damaged apple orchards along the river.
News18
7 days ago
- Climate
- News18
Uttarkashi Cloudburst: Ancient Shiva Temple Kalp Kedar Buried Under Debris After Flash Flood
Last Updated: The ancient Kalp Kedar temple, buried by a flash flood in the Kheer Ganga river, was discovered in 1945. Its architecture resembles Kedarnath Dham. Uttarkashi News: The ancient Kalp Kedar temple was buried under debris brought by a flash flood in the Kheer Ganga river. For many years, the temple remained underground with only its tip visible, likely due to a previous disaster. The temple, built in the Kature style, bears a resemblance to the architecture of Kedarnath Dham. In 1945, an excavation led to the discovery of this ancient Shiva temple several feet underground. The structure of the temple was found to be similar to that of the Kedarnath temple. Devotees had to descend to offer prayers as the temple was below ground level. As per the belief, the water from the Kheer Ganga would often flow onto the 'shivling' in the sanctum sanctorum, and a path was created for this purpose. Stone carvings can be seen outside the temple. The 'shivling' in the sanctum sanctorum is shaped like the back of Nandi, mirroring the design in the Kedarnath temple. Uttarakhand Cloudburst: Landslides Block Uttarkashi-Harsil Road Due to the cloudburst, the road at Bhatwadi on the Uttarkashi-Harsil route has been completely washed out. The road towards Harsil remained blocked through the night. Dharali, the location where the cloudburst caused significant damage, is approximately 50 kilometres from the site. Cloudburst triggered flash floods and landslides in Uttarakhand's Uttarkashi district, blocking several stretches of the Uttarkashi-Harsil road. Rescue and clearance operations are underway. Heavy machinery, including JCBs, has been deployed to clear debris and restore connectivity in the affected areas. A team from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has also been deployed at the site of the incident. IMD Issues Warning For Uttarakhand On Tuesday, the cloudburst triggered flash floods in Uttarkashi district, sweeping away homes, shops and roads. Several people are feared missing. Two cloudburst incidents were reported, one in Dharali and another in the Sukhi Top area, resulting in widespread destruction. Dharali bore the brunt of the damage. The region also experienced mudslides and further flash flooding. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued warnings for heavy rainfall across Uttarakhand, particularly in the hill districts. (PTI inputs) view comments First Published: Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
