Development projects necessary but need to establish balance between development and destruction say geologists in view of Joshimath ecological disaster !
The geologists are of the confirmed view that developmental projects of the state can’t be the impediment in the way of progress but there is a dire need for maintaining balance between development and destruction, especially in the Himalayan states of the country.
The geologists are of the clear views that various developmental projects are necessary for the progress of the people and the state to provide them employment but development should be sustainable and special care should be taken to ensure that all the necessary in depth seismological and geological studies and investigations are conducted and environmental aspects taken into consideration before giving a green signal to various over ambitious projects like tunnels, highways, roads and hydropower projects that have come under question n suspicion after the recent massive subsidence n subsequent cracks in hundreds of houses n commercial buildings including hotels in Joshimath.
The geologist with Central Road Research Institute as chief scientist Dr. Kishore Kumar, and other geologists one former General Manager of NHPC Dinesh Tripathi and another Balbir Singh were today delivering their lectures at Press Club of India.
A seminar was organised at PCI in view of the ongoing ecological disaster at Joshimath, Garhwal by Gayatri Charitable Trust on the topic : Joshimath catastrophe – Challenges and Solution.
Expressing their serious concern over the massive subsidence and cracks developed in more than seven hundred houses of Joshimath the geologists said that this is not a new ecological disaster but it’s being experienced since the past several decades though on a small scale not taken seriously either by the authorities nor by the people at large.
The suffering people filled the cracks with cements and psycologically became satisfied forgetting that a major danger lies ahead as happened today at Joshimath.
They said that Joshimath is primarily built on debris of the glacial catastrophe and excessive unscientific construction, no adequate drainage system since ages, toe cutting going on – on massive scale by rivers flowing alongside including massive rain and melting of snow at Auli after winters for several months with entire water accumulating inside the Joshimath mountains has resulted in the subsidence on massive scale with the area literally sinking generating wide cracks in houses, commercial buildings n hotels etc.
The geologists also mentioned about the apprehensions raised by the people accusing the NHPC tunnels, Helang Marwadi bypass project and roads etc for Joshimath land subsidence saying that developmental projects are the need of the hour which may be the reason for eruption of such ecological disasters but before coming to these conclusions there is an urgent need to have a detailed seismological n geological studies to find the authentic reasons behind such mishappenings and if need be such mega projects should be given up or halted forthwith.
Though favouring the ongoing hydropower and other developmental projects as mandatory for the progress of the state and its people the geologists admitted that it’s also a hard fact that if huge projects of development will come up they will definitely have adverse impact on our ecology and environment causing irreparable harm to humanity, the hard fact that cannot be denied.
Speaking at length on the increasing ecological disasters in Uttarakhand though admitting that these disasters are manmade too but also emphasised that before sanctioning such major developmental projects there need to be detailed indepth studies on all aspects of environmental, ecological impact by learned earth scientists of these mega projects including their implication on the inhabitants of that particular zone and the state.
Speaking on the ecological consequences of Joshimath these geologists said that today’s urgent and primary need is to evacuate the entire population of Joshimath to safer zones and ensuring their early n expeditious rehabilitation and resettlement.
They added that after the evacuation of the Joshimath population, the geological scientists should minutely and deeply analyse n investigate every aspect of the the ongoing ecological disaster and rectify the drawbacks like providing adequate drainage system of the township including ensuring that the massive saturated water inside the earth of Joshimath that had accumulated from various sources clearing it in toto, scientifically and till the time the entire water gets cleared out, this problem of subsidence can be sorted out, though not immediately but taking lot of time.
According to the geologist and former general manager of NHPC Mr. Dinesh Tripathi who spoke on the subject at length said that he unambiguously admits that lot of blunders have been committed by not exercising precautions in the past despite Atkinson cautioning in Gazetteer probably in 1886 that Joshimath has been founded on glacial rubble , followed by the warning of English geologist in his book in 1939 and thereafter by Mr. Mishra’s report in 1976 etc including several ecological catastrophes of 2013, Rishiganga flash floods of February 2021, Nainital catastrophe n now Joshimath etc but added that now is the time to learn lessons from all these tragedies to look forward and before starting any massive project minutely exercising detailed n in depth precautions by carrying out all the seismological, geological and environmental studies and other aspects that may not harm the civilisation as happened in Joshimath presently.
The former Rajya Sabha MP and activist Pradeep Tamta also spoke at length of the Joshimath crisis accusing the present government for showing tremendous negligence in tackling the ecological disaster saying that the Congress government had in the past stopped the Lohari mega hydro power project but the current government n its previous governments have cleared all the mega projects knowing very well that Uttarakhand has no share of the power generated by them thus becoming the absolute victim of environmentally unfriendly so called developmental projects.
The former MCD standing Committee chairman, author and Delhi BJP leader Jagdish Mamgain while castigating the successive governments of Uttarakhand and centre said that all the mega hydropower projects are being made in Uttarakhand exploiting us and the Himalayan state getting no power generated through them, including zero profit with 75% share going to the centre and 25 % to Uttar Pradesh.
Accusing the governments for always being negligent towards Uttarakhand and favouring mega hydropower projects which are harming the ecology of the state – Mamgain said that after the deadly ecological disaster of 2013 three committees were formed which submitted its reports on the direction of Supreme Court to find reasons behind such calamities but none of the report was accepted n implemented by the powers that be, then n till now, because the reports strongly opposed the hydropower projects of Uttarakhand terming them fully responsible for such man made disasters.
Others who spoke on the occasion were journalist and literateur Sushma Jugran, Congress leader Haripal Rawat, Uttarakhand Congress Vice President Dhirendra Pratap, Dev Singh Rawat and others.
Prominent among those present in this seminar were Shri K. S. Jangpangi, IPS DGP Kerala, Senior journalists Bharat Bhushan, Vinod Agnihotri, senior journalist Suresh Nautiyal, founder Uttarakhand Chintan, senior journalist and President of Parvatiya Kala Kendra Mr. Papne, Sunil Negi, President, Uttarakhand Journalists Forum, Rajendra Sajwan, sports Journalist, former CMO NDMC Hospital Dr. P. L. Arya, Tripen Singh Bhandari, Activist and prominent entrepreneur, Dr. Harish Lakhera, senior journalist, Guiness record holder Gopal Upreti, Habib Akhtar, senior journalist, Yogesh Bhatt, journalist, Professor Harendra Aswal, Rajendra Raturi, Vinod Rawat, president, Uttarakhand Chintan, J. R. Nautiyal, Prema Dhoni, Roshni Chamoli , Kushal Jeena , sr. Vice President Uttarakhand Kranti Dal Pratap Shahi etc.
