Unchecked pilgrimage, construction in Uttarakhand spell disaster for fragile Himalayas, warn experts

That reports of landslides are increasing and people in Joshimath are being compelled to move back to the homes they left, add to the general sense of foreboding.

Crumbling mountainsides, sinking towns and untrammelled construction. It is against this backdrop that thousands of pilgrims make their way to the upper reaches of Uttarakhand each day, posing serious risk to the fragile Himalayan region, say experts.

That reports of landslides are increasing and people in subsidence-hit Joshimath, the gateway to Badrinath, one of the Char Dham destinations, are being compelled to move back to the homes they left because of large cracks add to the general sense of foreboding gripping the area.

Environmentalists point to the road expansion project as another factor posing a serious risk to the stability of the region, already highly prone to climate-driven disasters, experts say.

The Uttarakhand government’s decision to lift the daily cap on the number of pilgrims visiting the state for the Char Dham Yatra is a matter of grave concern, according to environmental activist Atul Sati.

Earlier, the daily limits were -- Yamunotri (5,500 pilgrims), Gangotri (9,000), Badrinath (15,000) and Kedarnath (18,000).

“The increasing influx of thousands of pilgrims per day to Badrinath and other pilgrimage sites, along with a surge in the number of vehicles and heedless construction projects in the vicinity, is posing a significant threat to the ecological and biological diversity of the region,” Mr. Sati told PTI.

“On May 4, a mountain crumbled in Helang on the way to Joshimath while road widening was taking place. After Joshimath, the land is sinking in many other places in Uttarakhand. Every day we hear about people losing lives due to landslides on the roads,” he added.