What the unfolding disaster in Himachal Pradesh says about unsustainable development

By Pallavi Pundir
07 September, 2023

What the unfolding disaster in Himachal Pradesh says about unsustainable development

By Pallavi Pundir
07 September, 2023

The hill state’s faceoff with recurring rain-related disasters demonstrates the impact of mindless development compounded by climate change

When 25-year-old Sahil Thakur saw the video of a temple in Himachal Pradesh being washed away in the aftermath of a deadly cloudburst last month, he was too stunned for words. At least 30 people were offering prayers on 14 August, news outlets reported, when the small temple dedicated to Lord Shiva collapsed, entrapping the devotees under the rubble. 

Thakur lives barely 20 minutes away from the disaster site in Summer Hill, which is nearly seven kilometres from his hometown Shimla, the summer capital of Himachal Pradesh. It wasn’t just the casualty—nine confirmed deaths— that was too close to home. It was the disaster too. 

“I’ve never seen a cloudburst in Shimla before,” Thakur, a travel vlogger who chronicles the beauty of his Himalayan home state on his YouTube channel, tellsThe Established. “Such events don’t happen here. The last time I heard of a cloudburst was in 2013 in Kedarnath.” 

Cloudbursts aren’t uncommon in the Indian Himalayas. Climate change has only compounded its occurrences and unpredictability. Image: businesstoday.in

Rain-related incidents across Himachal Pradesh since July has forced locals and experts to scrutinise the scale and reason of the destruction. Image: telegraphindia.com

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