The destruction in Uttrakhand was man-made. Nature’s fury was invited by the state government and the Centre in connivance with the construction, sand and gravel mafia. Com bined with vote bank politics, which gave the signal for unchecked construction of dharamshalas and temples on the banks of rivers, this made the combination a lethal mix. Rivers changed their course and due to denudation of the mountains by the forest mafia the heavy rains and cloud bursts came down the mountains unhindered to destroy buildings.
“This is the conclusion drawn from reports of various environmentalists and NGOs including the famous RK Pichauri, Nobel Laureate, and chairperson of the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change and Sunita Narain, director general of the Centre for Science and Environment,” said Paramjit Singh Kainth, president of the National Scheduled Castes Alliance.
“It is a pity that the Uttrakhand government and the Centre did not pay heed to a warning from CAG three years ago that this area should be declared an eco-sensitive zone and warnings from various environmental activists. In fact the state government allowed the construction of hydro-electric projects
In the effected area. The BJP and the Congress have both enjoyed power in Uttrakhand and both are responsible for the catastrophe,” said Kainth. “The Akali Dal had been making false claims that pilgrims stranded, Hemkund Sahib, Govind Dham and other places had been airlifted to safety,” he added. ”Even the SGPC did precious little to rescue Sikh pilgrims,” he said.