Underlying imbalance between development and environmental damage

Abstract

A disaster took place in l:arakhand's Chamoli District on 7 February 2021, when a massive flood devastated the valleys of Rishi Ganga, Dhauliganga, and Alaknanda rivers. The suddeniiiPds in these rivers triggered widespread panic and large-scale devastation in the mountain region. Over 70 people died after these floods that occurred after a lake breached at Nanda Devi glacier in the upper reaches of the Himalayas, triggering flash floods that hit Rain i village and nearly washed away two hydropower plants downstream. River Rishiganga carrying debris along with it was traveling at the pace of 30m per second destroyed the existing 13.2 MW Rishi Ganga hydropower project in a short time and carried away people and animals present at the riverbed at the time of the incident. This further met the river Dhauliganga post this destruction. The flood in the Dhauliganga river destroyed the bridge and then the barrage of the 520 MW Tapovan-Vishhnugad hydroelectric project (HEP) funded by the Asian Development Bank that was under construction since 2005. The intensity of the flood can be seen by the fact that Alaknanda was flowing at a level of 3.11 m, higher than the level it achieved in 2013, during Kedarnath Incident.