Finally, Uttrakhand government on July 25, 2020 has removed illegal mining bridge on Yamuna river in Haripur, tehsil, Dehradun. The bridge across the Yamuna River was built by the illegal sand miners on culvert pipes in the last week of May 2020 hindering the river flows. It is not clear if the state government took… Continue reading Uttarakhand: Finally, Yamuna illegal bridge gone. But will govt learn?
Locals of Vikas Nagar tehsil in Dehradun have shared revealing and disturbing images and videos of riverbed mining activities done in Yamuna river over past couple of months. Though in wake of ongoing monsoon the mechanized extraction of riverbed minerals (RBMs) has seen a halt since July 01, 2020, the miners have left an illegally… Continue reading Uttarakhand govt must remove illegal bridge on Yamuna to prevent flood disaster
Banner image Jajred landslide zone which just reactivated with commencement of monsoon rains. (Nishant Panwar, July 07, 2020) Come monsoon and the Jajred mountain in Kalsi tehsil, Dehradun district in Uttarakhand starts falling apart. Located about 11 km away from Kalsi town, the landslide site near Amraha village blocks the vehicular movement on Kalsi-Chakrata state… Continue reading JAJRED perennial landslide in Yamuna basin, Uttarakhand
This past week we just completed seven years since the worst ever flood disaster in Himalayas, the Uttarakhand-Himachal Flood disaster that got launched with the massive unseasonal rainfall during June 15-17, 2013, along with the Glacial Lake Outburst Flood from Chorabari glacier upstream from Kedarnath. It was a massive wake up call. To briefly recall,… Continue reading DRP NB 22 June 2020: Seven years after Uttarakhand Disaster: Any lessons learnt?
Traditional water sources have been water life line for most of villages in hill areas of Uttarakhand. Known as Panyar, Naula, Chhoi, Dhara these fresh water sources, springs have been serving rural population with potable and other domestic water requirements since time immemorial. We thought this is possibly an appropriate story on this World Environment… Continue reading WED 2020: Uttarakhand workers return to revive traditional water sources
The hilly state of Uttarakhand has been witnessing severe weather conditions for most of April and first week of May 2020. The repeated incidents of rainfall, snowfall, and hailstorm have hit the mountain farmers hard. Snow, rain, hailstorm destroys cash and food crops On April 14, 2020 the Yamuna and Ganga valley faced severe hailstorm… Continue reading 2020 pre-monsoon rains, hails hit Uttarakhand farmers hard
The hilly state of Uttarakhand also known as land of rivers has seen increase in riverbed quarrying operations over past decade. With establishment of stone crushers industry, scale and intensity of riverbed minerals (RBM) excavation has further increased in past few years. So has become the impact on villagers and rivers. However, the government lacks… Continue reading Uttarakhand Riverbed Mining 2020: Rivers, People, Revenue Robbed
The haphazard road construction and widening in Uttarakhand have been proving disastrous for local water sources in fragile mountain region for long. In the latest instance, the villagers of Bheta-Badoli under Dhauladevi block in Almora district have complained of road debris choking the natural stream and damaging the traditional water source of the village. As… Continue reading Uttarakhand: Road widening work in Almora, damages traditional water sources
With the beginning of south west monsoon season 2019, many Himalayan states started witnessing exceptional rainfall events known as Cloud Bursts. The extreme weather event – like previous years- caused large scale destruction in ecologically sensitive and remotely located vulnerable hilly areas. This account compiles the available information about such incidents in Uttarakhand in 2019… Continue reading Uttarakhand Cloud Bursts in Monsoon 2019: No Doppler Radars Six Years Since 2013 Disaster
Uttrakhand has received 3% below normal rainfall during South West Monsoon 2018. Though the figure falls in normal category, however district level rainfall data paints a very different picture. Out of total 13 districts in the Himalayan state, four districts namely Almora, Pauri Garhwal, Tehri Garhwal and Udham Singh Nagar have received deficit rains, whereas… Continue reading Uttarakhand Monsoon 2018 Overview: Rainfall Normal, Distribution Abnormal
