{"id":253558,"date":"2023-07-26T20:31:14","date_gmt":"2023-07-26T15:01:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.forumias.com\/?p=253558"},"modified":"2023-08-31T10:35:45","modified_gmt":"2023-08-31T05:05:45","slug":"himachal-floods-a-man-made-disaster","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/himachal-floods-a-man-made-disaster\/","title":{"rendered":"Himachal floods: a man-made disaster?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Source<\/strong>– The post is based on the article \u201cHimachal floods: a man-made disaster?\u201d <\/strong>published in \u201cThe Hindu\u201d <\/strong>on 26th July 2023<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Syllabus: <\/strong>GS3- Disaster management. GS1- Geography<\/p>\n

Relevance:<\/strong> Floods in mountains<\/p>\n

News- <\/strong>Flash floods during this year\u2019s monsoon season have caused unprecedented damage to both lives and assets in Himachal Pradesh.<\/p>\n

How climate change is contributing to disaster?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

As per IPCC VI report<\/strong>, the impact of climate change on Himalayas and coastal regions of India will be high. In the Himalayas, there is a noticeable pattern of increased precipitation<\/strong> occurring in shorter periods of time.<\/p>\n

How anthropogenic factors have also significantly contributed to the disaster?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The State implemented its own development model<\/strong> after 1971.The focus of the model was land reforms, robust state-led investment in social welfar<\/strong>e, and a strong emphasis on human resources. <\/strong><\/p>\n

However, things changed after liberalisation. Central government advocated for stringent fiscal reforms<\/strong>. It forced the mountain States to generate their own resources for fiscal management.<\/strong><\/p>\n

This led to the rapid construction <\/strong>of hydropower projects, widening of roads without proper geological and engineering assessments<\/strong>, expansion of cement plants, and a shift in agricultural practices<\/strong> to cash crop economies.<\/p>\n

What are the impacts of hydropower generation?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Prior to 2000, multilateral agencies were opposed to financing large hydropower projects.<\/strong> But,they started providing funding for such ventures, making finance readily available for these projects.<\/p>\n

These hydropower projects are one of the main reasons for the devastating impact of floods<\/strong> in the region.<\/p>\n

The dams are based on \u201crun of the river\u201d technology.<\/strong> Water is diverted through tunnels burrowed into the mountains. The excavated material<\/strong> is disposed of along the riverbed<\/p>\n

During periods of higher precipitation or cloudburst<\/strong>s, the water returns to the river. The dumped material is carried along with it.<\/p>\n

Moreover, long tunnels<\/strong> have been commissioned on the Sutlej river. These are responsible for significant harm<\/strong> to the entire ecosystem.<\/p>\n

Currently, there are 168 hydropower projects in operation. As per projections; by 2030, 1,088 hydropower projects will be commissioned to harness 22,640 MW of energy.<\/p>\n

What are the impacts of tourism?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The development-driven road expansion<\/strong> is aimed at promoting tourism<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

This development model follows a PPP approach<\/strong>. There is focus on completing these projects rapidly. Essential geological studies and mountain engineering skills<\/strong> are bypassed.<\/p>\n

Traditionally, mountainous regions are not cut with vertical slits<\/strong>. They are terraced.<\/strong> It minimises\u00a0 the damage to the environment.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, vertical cutting of mountains<\/strong> has been done in case of four-lane projects in Manali and Shimla. It is leading to massive landslides<\/strong> and damage to existing roads.<\/p>\n

How change in crop patterns is contributing to disasters?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Many farmers are now opting for cash crops <\/strong>instead of traditional cereal farming<\/strong>. It poses challenges in transporting <\/strong>these perishable crops to markets.<\/p>\n

In response to this demand, roads are being hastily constructed without considering necessary factors<\/strong> like land cutting and gradient requirements<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Modern excavators<\/strong> are used in the construction process, but proper drainage systems and designated areas<\/strong> for muck disposal are not created.<\/p>\n

It is important to note that while the total designated road length<\/strong> in the state is approximately 1,753 km, the total length of all roads, including link and village roads, exceeds 40,000 km.<\/p>\n

Way forward- <\/strong><\/p>\n

An Inquiry Commission<\/strong> should be established to engage the main stakeholders<\/strong> for addressing both policy framework shortcomings and specific aspects<\/strong> of the undertaken projects.<\/p>\n

A new approach<\/strong> is necessary to empower local communities<\/strong> and grant them control over their assets.<\/p>\n

Losses incurred in culverts, village drains, small bridges, schools, and other social infrastructure must be compensated. It can be achieved through insuring the assets<\/strong> and entrusting their care to local communities.<\/p>\n

It is essential for humans to take responsible actions in infrastructure planning<\/strong> to prevent the disasters witnessed by the State since June.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Source– The post is based on the article \u201cHimachal floods: a man-made disaster?\u201d published in \u201cThe Hindu\u201d on 26th July 2023. Syllabus: GS3- Disaster management. GS1- Geography Relevance: Floods in mountains News- Flash floods during this year\u2019s monsoon season have caused unprecedented damage to both lives and assets in Himachal Pradesh. How climate change is… Continue reading Himachal floods: a man-made disaster?<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10320,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1230,9],"tags":[411,263,216,10498],"class_list":["post-253558","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-9-pm-daily-articles","category-public","tag-disaster-management","tag-gs-paper-1","tag-gs-paper-3","tag-the-hindu","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","views":{"total":7,"cached_at":"","cached_date":1700118168},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/253558","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10320"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=253558"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/253558\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=253558"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=253558"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=253558"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}