The Uttarakhand administration, driven solely by lucre, has begun preparations for the Char Dham Yatra this year, amidst the shaky ground in Joshimath and contiguous areas, without properly attending to the needs of hundreds of shaken families that have been uprooted from their tilting, collapsed, or evacuated dwellings.
No doubt, going by estimates of the National Council of Applied Economic Research, tourism is an important activity in Uttarakhand in view of its immense contribution to both revenue generation as well as employment creation.Tourism alone is estimated to contribute 2.96 per cent directly to the State’s Gross Value Added and 11.8 per cent to the State employment. If one includes indirect shares pertaining to linkages of tourism with other sectors of the economy, these shares work out to 6.59 per cent in GVA and 26.8 per cent in employment. All told, the Uttarakhand administration cannot sweep under the carpet the monumental crisis the region is currently facing, leave alone the ominous predictions of experts about the entire Himalayan region.
Ironically, just days after fresh cracks were found on the Joshimath-Badrinath highway, the official preparations began for registering pilgrims and helping them make their way to Badrinath. The saving grace this time is that a disaster management control room will be set up in the sinking town of Joshimath, with a Border Roads Organisation (BRO) team camping there to respond to “any alerts of further cave-ins or other emergencies”.
Otherwise, the administration is deaf to the cries of Joshimath’s beleaguered residents and activists that the yatra this year will only exacerbate the crisis and put spokes in the wheel of the ongoing rehabilitation efforts that leave much to be desired. So far, relief package has been released for nearly 3,000 families affected by land subsidence in the Himalayan state. As of February 20, the number of houses affected by land subsidence and landslides stood at 868. In all, 878 members of 243 families were shifted to temporary shelters.
Satellite studies showed that the town continues to sink, with the gaping cracks in homes, buildings, and roads witnessed over the last few months presaging worse disasters waiting to happen. In no time, came the gag order. Official agencies were told in no uncertain terms that they should not share official information with the media. Mercifully, on 17 February, the Supreme Court sought the response of the Centre and others to a plea seeking assessment of the carrying capacity and master plans of the Indian Himalayan Region spanning across 13 States and Union Territories.
At least the Uttarakhand administration is not worried about the carrying capacity, regardless of the state’s floating population. Uppermost in the minds of residents are the fresh fissures that have appeared on the road leading to Narasingh temple, known as the winter abode of Lord Badrinath. A bypass of the Badrinath highway leading to the Himalayan temple, the road is used for taking pilgrims from Joshimath to Badrinath during the yatra season. Fresh cracks were also reported on the highway between Joshimath and Marwari. This stretch is used for pilgrims returning from Badrinath and passes through the main market in Joshimath.
Local people are watching in disbelief how the administration has been underplaying the Joshimath crisis and keeping up appearances for the upcoming Char Dham Yatra. At this point, nobody knows how the government proposes to accommodate lakhs pilgrims expected to arrive during the season at Joshimath.
Last year, 45 lakh pilgrims offered prayers at the four highly revered shrines. Each shrine reported all-time high footfalls, with Badrinath receiving 17.6 lakh devotees, followed by Kedarnath (15.6 lakh), Gangotri (6.2 lakh) and Yamunotri (4.8 lakh).This year the Char Dham yatra begins on April 22.
There is talk that the Tourism Department is planning to put a cap on the number of participants in the yatra this year. A daily limit of 15,000 pilgrims for Kedarnath, 18,000 for Badrinath, 9,000 for Gangotri, and 6,000 for Yamunotri has been recommended, though a call is yet to be taken.
Joshimath, now wobbly in parts, is the gateway to Badrinath, the Valley of Flowers, and Hemkund Sahib. Presently, most of the hotels have been occupied by displaced residents. Residents who are yet to be accommodated in hotels or elsewhere and those living in buildings deemed unsafe question the wisdom of shifting focus now to the Char Dham Yatra without finding permanent solution to those who have lost their homes due to land subsidence.
The administration is concerned more about making the most of the yatra. “Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called upon the devotees to spend 5% of their travel expenses in buying local products, which will promote local products. Efforts should be made in this direction. Millet-based products should also be promoted during the Char Dham Yatra,” Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami told officials, indicating the priorities.
In 2022, the Char Dham Yatra brought fortunes for many people, with the state generating Rs 40 crore in revenue till August 2022. Firms operating helicopters did Rs 85 crore business and those transporting pilgrims on horses/mules generated over Rs100 cr. Women belonging to self-help groups (SHGs) earned Rs 43.50 lakh by selling ‘prasad’ during theKedarnath Dham Yatra alone.
No less a person than the chief scientist and seismologist at the Hyderabad-based National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI)
Dr N Purnachandra Rao warned recently:”The Earth’s surface comprises various plates that are constantly in motion. The Indian plate is moving about 5 cm every year, resulting in the accumulation of stress along the Himalayas and raising the possibility of major earthquakes… We have a strong network of 18 seismograph stations in Uttarakhand.
The region, referred to as the seismic gap between Himachal and the western part of Nepal, including Uttarakhand, is prone to earthquakes that might occur any time.”
Even this scary prediction, made about a region in which many areas are subsiding and trembling, has not deterred the Uttarakhand administration from going after the moolah. Maybe, it is its moolah mantra!
