The Wrath of Nature: A Warning from the Mountains
Shiva symbolizes both welfare and destruction, holding the responsibility for the universe's well-being and its potential ruin. It is up to human wisdom to balance nature and life, yet humans have compelled Shiva to unleash his third eye. Natural disasters are timeless truths, with a history dating back to the dawn of human civilization. They caused devastation in the past and continue to do so today. The difference now is the increased frequency of these events. Previously, there were long intervals between them, but now humanity faces the terror of natural disasters daily. The severe destruction from a cloudburst in Dharali village, Uttarkashi district, Uttarakhand, exemplifies this. In an instant, the flood in the Kheer Ganga river obliterated villages, homes, hotels, and more. The exact number of casualties and missing persons remains unknown, as everything is buried under debris. The situation in the mountainous state of Himachal Pradesh is dire due to these disasters, raising significant concerns about the state's readiness to handle such events.
Accurate forecast and quick communication during disasters save lives, but due to roads being broken at many places, NDRF, SDRF and police administration have also faced a lot of difficulties in sending rescue teams. On top of that, rain has also wreaked havoc. Incidents like the Kedarnath tragedy of 2013, Chamoli avalanche tragedy of 2021 and Joshimath of 2023 in Uttarakhand have repeatedly warned us to do something. The ecological balance has been seriously disrupted, but neither the governments nor the humans paid attention to this. Uttarakhand is already vulnerable to natural disasters. There are many reasons for this. Scientists say that the pattern of the disaster in Uttarkashi was similar to the flood in Kedarnath. The reason for both the incidents is the western disturbance arising in the Mediterranean Sea hitting the Himalayas, due to which the cloud burst took a horrific form. Natural calamity is partly responsible for these circumstances and the reasons behind the losses caused by some disasters are also the changing lifestyle, indiscriminate exploitation of natural resources in the name of development, illegal mining, expansion of multi-storey buildings etc. If we see, the result of destroying the mountains for human comforts is that the disasters which used to happen occasionally in the past are now happening every day. There is a fear of going to the mountain area in every rainy season. The fury of nature is visible everywhere. Statistics show that more than fifty devastating landslides have occurred in the state in the last hundred years.
Natural disasters not only cause havoc, but also obstruct the development of that area. Landslides, floods, etc. cause many kinds of obstructions, which affect the entire life of the people of that area. In such a situation, a lot of attention needs to be paid to construction work. It is necessary to take serious action on stopping construction work to a certain limit on some banks of mining, rivers, valleys, promoting afforestation, proper agricultural system, protection of vegetation, review of big development projects. Despite the havoc of natural disasters coming from time to time and overexploitation in the name of development, the government system of the state needs to be sensitive towards disaster management. When the rivers changed their course, people built houses. They dug up the mountains and built hotels and homestays. It is impossible to say when the water coming from the mountains will change its path. The mountains became hollow due to extensive decisive activities on the Char Dham Yatra route and also due to Hydel projects. The Dharali disaster also occurred because the flood in Kheer Ganga found its old path.
After every disaster, people often start saying that Rudra is angry with Devbhoomi Uttarakhand. Or Bhagirathi river is showing its fierce form but no one is thinking why this is happening. While making plans to build roads and dams in the mountains sitting in air-conditioned rooms of metros, no one thinks that they are drawing a blueprint for the destruction of the mountain. By watching the videos of natural disaster, man must have realized his existence. Of course, natural disasters cannot be stopped but situations can be controlled. Although from Chief Minister Pushkar Dhami to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, everyone is personally monitoring the relief work. The administration is taking every possible step. The countrymen are also distressed. The countrymen are also ready to help Uttarakhand but man should also not tamper too much with nature.
Nature is a science unto itself, maintaining a unique and well-organized system where all elements exist in specific proportions. However, our greed has recently disrupted this natural order and balance. Over the years, we have been damaging nature by constructing along riverbanks, limiting their natural flow, and destroying forests, which has led to climate deterioration. In doing so, we often overlook the immense power of nature, which can be nurturing yet also destructive. Its nurturing force provides support, while its wrath can be life-threatening. Consequently, anyone obstructing the restoration of nature's original form is inevitably overcome and swept away.