'The government only wakes up after devastation.'
'The government does not understand the gravity of the situation nor they do not want to understand the gravity of the situation.'
Cloudbursts in Uttarkashi district on August 5 killed many and several others are feared missing. Many houses were swept away by the raging waters, videos shared on social media showed.
Uttarakhand, celebrated as Dev Bhoomi since houses the most sacred Dhams in the Hindu tradition, has been facing nature's fury in recent years. In 2021, a glacier burst led to flooding of the Alakananda and Dhauliganga rivers, while a flash flood triggered an avalanche in Chamoli district; in 2016, Ghansali in Tehri district faced two cloudbursts; in 2012 a cloudburst triggered flash floods in Uttarkashi; and in 2013, over 6,000 were feared killed when Kedarnath bore the brunt of flooding caused by a cloudburst.
What is going wrong in the abode of the Gods?
Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff spoke to environmentalist Rajendra Singh, winner of the Magsaysay Award in 2001, to understand the causes behind the series of natural disasters.
You have been warning of natural disasters in Uttarakhand. And today we saw what happened in Uttarkashi. How do you see the latest tragedy to befall Uttarakhand?
I have been warning about this danger Uttarakhand is facing from 2007, that you will drown the state with flood water. And this is exactly what is happening today.
The first proof was that in 2013 when Uttarakhand faced a tremendous natural calamity and post that almost every second year the state is facing such natural calamity.
Why is this happening?
This is happening because you have gone and constructed all-weather roads across Uttarakhand. It has disturbed the ecology of the state.
SEE: The devastation caused by the cloudburst in Uttarkashi on August 5, 2025.
These all-weather roads cannot hold when the water flows from mountains in great speed to the lowlying areas sweeping entire villages and towns across Uttarakhand. It is total devastation.
The situation is very scary and things will not improve until we stop mining and industrialisation in Uttarakhand.
It needs to be regulated, but that is not happening.
The government only wakes up after devastation. And I personally feel the government does not understand the gravity of the situation nor they do not want to understand the gravity of the situation.
You will see more devastation in the coming days in Uttarakhand.
Why do you say so?
Because they have made tunnels across Uttarakhand by breaking the mountains and we saw the Joshimath disaster in 2023.
If you want to stop all this then right now you've got to stop all the tunnel work that is going on in Uttarakhand and also the dams that are being constructed.
The mining work you want to do should also be done scientifically but here too we are having irregular mining in the Himalayas.
But in case of a cloudburst what can the government do? It is a natural calamity.
Cloudburst happens because of the mistakes of the government. They permit mining which results in heat waves. There are glaciers in the mountains and when you generate heat by mining, it results in heatwave generation. This heatwave generation leads to cloudburst in the mountains.
Are you saying this is a man-made disaster?
Yes, this is a man-made disaster as you never saw these things happening in 52 years ago in Uttarakhand.
These things are happening only in the last 10 to 12 years and I have been warning about this since 2007.
What did you warn about in 2007?
I had warned at that time that there are rivers flowing in the Himalayas like the Ganga, Yamuna, Bhagirathi, Alakananda and Mandakini that flow freely. But what we are doing is that we are changing their natural flow by making tunnels across the state. This results in breaking up of the Himalayas which will result in floods.
Who did you warn at that time?
I warned the then BJP chief minister of Uttarakhand, Ramesh Pokhriyal. I met him personally and warned of the dangers we will face in Uttarakhand but nothing happened.
I warned him three times in one on one meetings.
Later, due to our agitation, work stopped at Pala Maneri and Bhairo Ghati. The same should have happened in Alakananda and Bhagirithi but no one listened.
Professor G D Agarwal fasted for 111 days against these projects and had to pay with his life for this cause in 2018.
What is this all-weather road?
It means you can travel during rains and snow too in Uttarakhand.
Earlier, cars wouldn't run in Uttarakhand in harsh weather. With all-weather roads transportation is going on all the time.
They are blowing up the Himalayas with dynamite and destroying the Himalayan ecosystem.
The government wants more and more people to travel to the Dev Bhoomi state. And for that you will need all-weather roads.
There is a reason you visit Dev Bhoomi. You go to Dev Bhoomi when the Gods are awake.
Today, nobody goes to Dev Bhoomi for the Gods but for tourism and fun.
This was a religious tourist place and now they have converted it into a tourist spot. Uttarakhand has become a tourist centre from a pilgrimage centre.
They call Ganga as Mai but do only kamaai (earn money) in its name. This is the sole agenda of the government.
Was there a specific time to visit Uttarakhand earlier?
Earlier, people used to visit Uttarakhand only from May to November.
There was no word called tourism for Uttarakhand 30 years ago. Now, people go in big cars and travel smoothly to this place.
Religious tourism is dead and only tourism exists as it is non-stop tourism.
For the last 10 years this has become the trend which is resulting in ruining the ecosystem of the Himalayas.
This latest incident happened in Uttarkashi. Can you speak about it?
Uttarkashi is 150 km downside from Gaumukh. The Ganga starts its flow from Gaumukh. Even here they have a dam project called the Maneri Bhali dam.
Why does nobody in the government heed your warnings?
They hear me all the time but it is the vested interests which do not want my voice to be heard.
I don't speak for profits.
Devtaon ka shraap mil raha hai humko Uttarakhand mein (The Gods are cursing us in Uttarakhand).
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