The eternal dilemma remains unresolved. Each and every developed country has been living under the shadows of disaster. Yet they push those not so developed towards the same end. Picturesque Chamoli stands devastated. Till now, according to available reports, at least 197 are missing and 32 dead. Drones in the tunnel at Tapovan and Rishi Ganga valley are still unable to trace any living or dead.

Scientists have observed that pattern of climate has been undergoing major shift. While there was no sign of snow on February 2, on 6, a thick layer was noted on the upper region which melted on February 7, as by 12 noon, there was no trace of snow there. The thick layer of snow slipped down fast with mud, slush, boulders and debris crushing everything in the way including the glacier perched among the peaks.

It is high time to take stock of all the steps taken in the name of development. Among them most common is felling of trees or deforestation. The justification given is industrialisation, urbanisation that lead to progress. There is consolation also with promises of forestation. Replicating nature is never possible. Whatever is created in the name of revegetation is never the same.

First the density of forest which is imperative for protecting against environmental degradation is lost. Then every time a tree is felled, soil level gets eroded. Afforestation will fetch only different type of soil, devoid of the natural richness. The entire ecosystem destroyed once can never be recreated. The huge loss of water sources is another horror that follows and can never be restored.

One of the biggest harm is disappearance of glaciers, a major source of fresh water in the world. These are directly linked with drinking water and rivers. Glaciers also maintain the temperature balance. Glacier destruction would generate snow storms at some places and in others, the water level would go up. It would also lead to drought as it happened in Alaska and also in several other places.

This contributes to the general rise in earth’s temperature. It also influences general life forms, including that of humans. Glaciers are basically sensitive to temperature and sound. Their density is very low and react even to the sound of gun shots, or vehicles moving nearby. Few years back, in Uttarakhand, someone shot a gun in the air near the Mana glacier and the result was a break in the glacier that led to disastrous results.

There is also the issue of carbon emission. More the trees are felled, carbon emission level would be higher. More the ocean and lakes are filled with slush, higher would be the carbon level. The reason is that forests and the oceans do the job of sink for carbon. They absorb all the carbon emitted in the nature. Trees take carbon dioxide from air and water from earth and create carbohydrates from them. This process is interrupted as the result of deforestation. Carbon remains unabsorbed. Unassimilated, the level of carbon goes up in the atmosphere. Another related process gets affected is carbon compounds that are created inside the plants and are released without going through the entire process. Thus carbon is absorbed in soil and atmosphere, generating more carbon dioxide. Carbon emission grows and results in rise of temperature. All these changes greatly influence the air and water. Global waves with fixed annual cycles stand interrupted now. This has a negative influence on that of life and seasonal cycles.

One example of the influence is withdrawal of Gomukh from where river Ganga originates. Now the source has withdrawn itself several miles back bringing down the water flow.

Rise in temperature also results in the melting of snow which leads to floods and also makes it more frequent. The flow of slush makes the water level go up. Rate of ice formation is going down with rise in heat, and leads to further withdrawal of rivers.

With this massive chaos leading to severe damage in the eco balance, there would be more and greater mishaps in future.

We have to understand that any interference with nature has chain reactions and each one is more severe than the previous one. And also that more often than not at the receiving end are the larger masses, also a part of nature only. Uttarakhand episode must not be repeated. In itself, it is a signal for greater destruction. (IPA Service)