• A common Indian’s anguish on the 2025 floods in Uttarakhand, Himachal, Punjab, Jammu region and likely causes of such large-scale damage. Lastly, Food for Thought being suggestions on what we, the people of India and state government authorities can do. Hill states need a different development model.Respecting Nature was always part of Indian Tradition. 

Cloudbursts and floods in Garwhal region of Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and Jammu region. Now threatening Srinigar and Delhi.

Weeks after the Dharali floods swept away lives and homes, the Uttarakhand forest department despite warnings from environmental experts and the Ravi Chopra–led Committee, cleared 17.5 hectares of forests for the BRO’s Netala Bypass. The floods had also exposed timber mafia’s greed by carrying piles of illegally cut logs. Still reeling from the devastation of floods, locals are begging the government to stop. 

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First Dharali & Harshil in Uttarkashi, then Tharali & Chepadon in Chamoli, then Jammu & Kashmir… 

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“The primary reason is the topography of the area, where heavy rainfall often results in landslides, sending mud and concrete into the rivers. These materials flow down with great force, accumulating momentum on the way, leading to flash floods downstream.” 5  Indian Express

Authorities push ahead cutting deodars in an eco-sensitive zone for the ropeway from Pirdi to Bijli Mahadev, ignoring cultural and ecological costs and warnings by the locals of sinking meadows….

Landslides in Uttarakhand have increased by a mammoth 3000% over last 10 years with over 4,600 landslides, 13,000 instances of floods, avalanches and cloudbursts. All the construction in Uttarkashi, including roads and bridges are on flood ways and terraces, many do not even have a drainage system. Commercialising of pilgrimage routes have increased encroachment on river banks, forests, and dangerous slopes for shanty towns and cheap accommodation. This commercialization is beyond the carrying capacity of the Himalayan region. 

Pilgrimages were never meant to be four-lane tourist highways with Maggi wrappers and plastic strewn across sacred forests. They were meant to test resilience, introspection, and reverence for the divine. Garwhal needs devotees not tourists.

Despite the 1976 Mishra Commission warning against blasting fragile Joshimath slopes, the ₹12,000-crore Char Dham road project bulldozed through forests and mountains. By 2023, Joshimath was sinking at 10 cm per year, with cracks in over 850 houses and hundreds of families were displaced. Read Ropeways to Kedarnath and Hemkund Sahib Are AVOIDABLE

According to the Uttarakhand State Transport Department data, 83,000 odd vehicles were registered in the state during 2005-6. By 2012-13 this number went upto180,000 which consisted mostly of commercial cars, jeeps and taxis. Only 4,000 of these were registered in 2005-06. In 2012-13 the number was 40,000. 

In the June 2013 cloudburst more than 6,054 people were presumed dead, 300,000 remained trapped in the valley, more than 110,000 were rescued. The evident co-relation between increased tourism and higher incidence of landslides? Read about 2013 Embrace the Sacred, Dump the secular

Illegal mining across Himachal continues unchecked, draining water channels and gutting valleys. Himachal doesn’t need more projects, it needs protection—stop axing forests and blasting hills.

Once rare, cloudburst, landslides, flash floods are now a frequent affair. A 2023 study found that extreme rainfall events in the country have surged 20–50% since the 1950s, a direct fallout of climate change. Over 45% of Himachal is already highly prone to landslides, floods & avalanches. Yet blasting continues in fragile zones. Since 2018, the state has seen 148 cloudbursts, 294 flash floods & 5,000+ landslides, costing ₹1,000-2,000 crore every year.

From tunnels to highways, the youngest mountains on Earth are being shattered daily for multi-lane roads and railway to reach pilgrim places?

Why are devotees allowed to go for Yatras in the monsoon season? Safe evacuation of Manimahesh Yatris puts additional pressure on the State administration, paramilitary forces and Indian Army.

Cloudbursts in Jammu region districts of Kishtwar, Doda, and Ramban, where settlements on fragile slopes are easily washed away, were catastrophic. 

The short-sightedness of state policy makes disasters deadlier. For e.g. AIIMS Jammu was built in a flood-prone khad, repeated dam projects in Kinnaur left the Sutlej valley dangerously weak. Projects like the Char Dham highway and railway tunnels in Ramban involving indiscriminate blasting of mountains in Fragile Zones adversely impacted the environment too.

River TAWI is creating havoc in Jammu. Instead of providing greater space for it to transport extra rainwater, the Tawi Riverfront project has narrowed the river channels to include manicured gardens, multi-storey apartments, amusement parks, convention centres, malls, hotels, and shopping complexes! Read Riverfront project in Jammu destroying river

Can we not plan something without residential apartments, malls, hotels etc?

Navjeev Digra, a founding member of Climate Front Foundation (CFF) Jammu suspects that construction work on the central portion of RFD covering the river island called Mandal could damage the ancient Ranbir canal structure running underneath across the river. Named after a ruler Maharaja Ranbir Singh the 60 km long canal was built in 1905 to bring Chenab water for irrigation purposes in R S Pura and Samba tehsils in Jammu.” 

Heavy rains in 2023 and 2024 also saw water spill into residential colonies. Locals warned, that the project is converting the river into a ticking flood bomb. Incidentally, the Tawi River worshipped as Surya Putri, receives wastes from 17 sewage nallahs and additional small drains.

Bridges and real estate projects on floodplains across the Yamuna, Ganga, and their tributaries have choked natural drainage and amplified floods. The Yamuna floodplains in Delhi have been encroached by real estate projects, the Commonwealth Games Village (2010) being the most known e.g. Today, even moderate rainfall leads Yamuna to swell and flood colonies on its floodplains. 

River Yamuna that flows through urban Delhi for 22 kilometres has its flood plains obstructed by 4 bridges and a Metro line in just 170 metres. Each bridge having 14 pillars, 3/8 meters in diameter is erected in active course and bed of Yamuna. Bridges on NH 24, Mayur Vihar, opposite Sarai Kale Khan, multiple bridges and other structures between Wazirabad and Okhla are on floodplains!

Encroachments, demolition debris, concrete waste, dumping, levelling, raising riverbed, plastic waste etc., have been choking the river bed. Yamuna is reduced to an open sewer with tonnes of untreated sewage, 2,000 MLD from 21 nallahs. Gasping for her own life, Yamuna asserted her might in July 2023. Read article in SANDRAP-Key Lessons from unprecedented floods in Yamuna

Neither Beas river this year, nor Yamuna then, are flooding or coming in the way of roads, towns, or villages; it is human greed that is coming in the way/ course of the rivers! 

Floods worsened in Mumbai because Mithi River, once lush with mangroves was turned into a stinking drain. Around 70% of the liquid in the Mithi is sewage, 30% garbage, and 10% is industrial discharge. The unchecked expansion of the city resulted in excessive dumping into the river, while BKC's land reclamation restricted the waterway dangerously close to its mouth. This year the Mithi River pushed back and flooded parts of Kurla, BKC and Santacruz, LBS Road, Taximan’s Colony and Kapadia Nagar. 

Bengaluru & Chennai flood repeatedly because lakes and wetlands have been erased by real estate.

Read Why Chennai floods every time it rains Excerpts, “The first reason is Chennai’s long history of vanishing lakes & water bodies, captured by rampant & unfettered urbanisation. Only 15% of Chennai’s wetlands are left, according to a study by Chennai-based Care Earth Trust, a biodiversity research organisation. Their findings show that Chennai’s built-up area grew from 47 sq. km in 1980 to 402 sq. km in 2012, while wetlands declined from 186 sq. km to 71 sq. km.”  

Read Bengalureans list what is drowning the city and Why is Bengaluru suddenly prone to floods Excerpts, “Encroachment of lakes, tanks and drains, poor planning of drainage systems and lack of regulation of floodplains have exposed Bangalore to the threat of urban flooding, say experts.”

Real Estate generates employment and revenue? Is there a way to regulate it?

Devastating floods in Punjab are the outcome of a century of narrowing rivers, erasing wetlands, and building brittle infrastructure in the name of development. It is the cumulative result of colonial engineering, post-independence agricultural policy, unregulated urbanisation, illegal sand mining and political choices that have left Punjab dangerously exposed.

Further, river beds not desilted since 1960, lack of maintenance of canals, flood plains encroached, weak bundhs and cultivation on watercourse. 4

A 2023 Revenue Department survey exposed that more than 7,000 hectares of illegal colonies sit on the floodplains of the Sutlej and Beas. Water this year had only one path; into villages, homes, and fields. “Kahan Singh Pannu, former secretary, Water Resources Department, Punjab, pegs the annual cost of maintenance of rivers at Rs 3,000 crore” but state government/farmers cannot think beyond free power.” Read Why Punjab cannot escape blame for floods

Prof Ramesh Kanwar told The Tribune, “We need to have enough land cover under watersheds and manage these in a way that much of the rainwater is absorbed, channelled through a good drainage system or goes into the groundwater instead of going as run-off.” 1

Silver Lining-Heavy flooding might have re-charged the ground water levels.

On 20 August 2025, just 35 mm of rain in two hours left Chandigarh’s northern sectors under knee-deep water. The city’s premier medical institution, PGI was submerged, rain water infiltrated even the critical zones. Mohali and Ludhiana fared no better. 

Concrete, Dams, and the Dying Rivers

Dams are also fuelling floods. Sudden water release from the dam drowned 331 villages in Belagavi in 2019. Two lakh people were marooned in Kolhapur & Sangli in 2019. Machchu dam collapse in 1979 wiped out thousands in Morbi.

When Bhakra and Pong dams crossed 90% storage in July 2025, there was little buffer left to absorb cloudburst inflows. Up to 45,000 cusecs water was released in a single day. That torrent rushing into rivers stripped of their floodplains, weakened by mining, amplified destruction downstream.

Dams in Eco-Sensitive Basins have overrun Himalayan Rivers. By 2020, 80% of the Bhagirathi and 65% of the Alaknanda had been dammed, despite clear geological warnings, making the rivers more volatile. The 2013 Kedarnath floods destroyed several such projects, showing their vulnerability.

Forests Don’t Grow Overnight

Drive for roads, ports, and power plants is stripping away forests, expressways slice through wildlife corridors, ports rise on fragile islands. These aren’t one-offs but part of a widening clash between development and ecology. Token sapling plantations cannot replace the loss of ancient, biodiverse forests, it is only ‘Green Washing’ the crime of deforestation!

In the last hundred years we have lost 86 percent of our forest cover 77 percent of it in the Himalayan region.

Take the example of Indore- the “cleanest city”. It has lost an estimated 250,000 trees in just five years, shrinking its green cover to a mere 9%. It is here where the “Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam” campaign claims to have planted 51 lakh trees!!

On World Environment Day, Indore saw the felling of 1,240 trees to pave the way for the Regal Square–Airport metro corridor. For Indore–Ujjain six-lane corridor, around 3,000 trees will be uprooted. For Smart City mission’s redevelopment plans in areas like MOG Lines, approximately 5,000 aged trees are tagged for removal. Airport-access road expansion threatens 445 trees, at MR-10 Square, 1,027 trees will be cut for six-lane flyover…

Every tree cut is not just timber lost, it is decades of shade, oxygen, and balance destroyed in a single stroke. Trees that survive the heat waves, trap dust, absorb noise, and give the city its character are being casually sacrificed for concrete. Development that bulldozes old banyans and neem groves, while promising to “plant saplings” elsewhere, is nothing but tokenism. A sapling takes years to offer the benefits of a mature tree, by then, the damage to microclimates and public health will already be done.

Ancient wisdom saw nature as sacred. The concept of environmental protection is not a modern phenomenon for Hindu tradition, Shri Krishna lifting Govardhan Parvat is not a myth but ecological guidance: forests and cows are shields against natural fury. Our ancestors built with nature, not against it. Read Indian Culture protects Plants and Forests

The Cost of Concrete

But today, forests and agricultural lands are being taken over by environmentally one of the most destructive industry, the construction industry. Concrete jungles do not absorb rain; they repel it, pushing it back onto roads, homes, and lives.

Besides, concrete’s hunger drives a sand mining mafia across India. 

Rivers like the Sone and Narmada are being gouged daily, their beds lowered, banks eroded, and coasts weakened. Mafias controls extraction in Maharashtra, Rajasthan, UP, Karnataka.

This is not development. This is vandalism dressed up as progress. It’s sanctioned destruction. It is gambling with fragile ecology and human lives and calling it “infrastructure.”

Every new road carved into a landslide-prone slope, every bridge built on a floodplain, every dam blasted into a fragile mountain is an invitation to catastrophe.

Cement Roads prevent water from seeping into the ground. The solution to bad asphalt roads is better quality asphalt not always cement roads. Such roads always contribute to rising temperatures during summers.  

Hard hitting, but true, flood preparedness in India remains reactive; focused on post-disaster response rather than on preventive infrastructure to mitigate future disasters. Governments typically spend far more on post-flood compensation- funds are sanctioned, tenders are floated, contracts are signed.

Government must stop sanctioning ecologically disastrous projects. Stop manufacturing disasters! 

When rivers rise, they are not flooding towns—they are reclaiming space we stole from them. Every axed tree, every blasted slope, every river choked is a disaster scripted in advance.

What we call “natural calamities,” today are echoes of choices made in boardrooms and ministries.

Food for thought

1. Maintaining of City level drains is whose responsibility!

2. Good roads important but do we need 4 lane highways in the hills!

3. Should Farmers not ask for Desilting of Rivers instead of Subsidy esp. in debt laden Punjab!

4. Stone Mining in rivers needs to be tightly controlled? Need new technology in construction that uses less of stone.

5. India needs to a find a sector beyond Real Estate that contributes to GDP/Jobs.

6. Garwhal is for devotees not tourists. Stop making pilgrimages, tourist destinations.

7. Himachal needs tourists yes but an alternate development plan that protects the ecology of the region. Can it higher educational institutions like IIT Mandi?

8. Since Punjab is a downstream state, should it be more concerned about deforestation in Himachal?

9. RESPECT Nature or face the consequences.

10. Devotees should avoid going for yatras in hill states during monsoon months of July-September. Locals must live to enjoy money earned. 

The tragedy is a few months later, all will be forgotten and we will continue doing that we did before the floods.

One can blame Climate Change or look within and change.

Also read

1. Why Punjab cannot escape blame for floods

2. Parliamentary Panel blames elevated roads for Punjab floods

3. Floating Wood logs

4. In Punjab floods 2025, a 1988 redux: How man-made activities worsened natural calamities over the years

5. What caused Uttarakhand Flash Floods in 2025

6. What caused Uttarkashi flash floods HT

References

1.  Delhi Govt. Forest Department Report, 2008–2021.

2.  MoEFCC Notification, Haryana Forest Development (2019).

3. Mishra Commission Report (1976); National Disaster Management Authority Report on Joshimath (2023).

4. CAG Report on Commonwealth Games Village Construction (2011).

5. J&K Disaster Management Authority, Pernote Landslide Report (2024).

6. CWC & MoEF Study on Himalayan Hydropower Projects (2020).

7. Jammu Municipal Corporation Reports on Tawi Riverfront Flooding (2023–24).

8. Chatham House Report: “Making Concrete Change” (2018).

9. Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) Yamuna Report (2020).

10. Supreme Court Appointed Committee Report on Uttarakhand Floods (2014).

11. Roxy, M. K., et al. (2023). Increasing frequency and intensity of extreme rainfall events over India.

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