Lands of lands and floods continue in the plains of Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, North Eastern, and Rajasthan, Punjab, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar.
Lands of lands and floods continue in Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Northeast’s mountains, and Rajasthan, Punjab, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar’s plains. In the last few years, the intensity of the devastation caused by them has increased. After all, what is the reason that we are unable to guess the flood situation ahead of time. Is this due to lack of coordination in all government institutions or something? Special conversation with Dr. Anil Kumar, a Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology of Outlook on all important issues related to floods and floods. Some excerpts:
For the last few years, reports have been coming that both the intensity and frequency of the rain are increasing. Is this the reason for floods in the Himalayas and plains?
Absolutely. The Meteorological Department’s figures from 1971 to 2024 show that the number of rain days has not increased much, but the intensity of rain has increased. That is, a lot of water is raining in a short time. The number of incidents related to heavy rains in Himachal and Uttarakhand has also increased continuously. The incident of Dharali is the biggest example of this.
When the flood comes, it is said that the cloud burst, but the IMD does not mention the cloudburst in its report. Then what happened in Dharali again?
Say in easy words, if there is more than 100 mm of rain within an hour, then it falls in the category of cloudburst. The center of IMD is slightly lower, such as Harshil etc. The Wadia Institute is in the upper area with them. According to our data, the upper part of Dharali received more than 200 mm of rain in the last 24 hours. 200 mm rainfall is not more in terms of 24 hours. But its intensity was high. This caused the slopes to collapse. In the top parts, the soil-stones (called Moren) near the glacier (called Moren) and the already loose debris started flowing below the rain. This caused more destruction. The land in that area is very sensitive, so the situation worsened. This is why it appears in incidents ranging from Kedarnath to Dharali.
You said, there are more sedments in the upper part of Dharali. What will it call it in simple language, why are they important?
Celebrations are actually small pieces of soil and stones. These are gathered in large quantities due to sloping breakdown, landslide and land moving (tectonic activity) in hilly areas like Himalayas. They are more in areas like Gangotri, Harshil and Dharali. In heavy rains, these soil and stone flow with water and reach the river. This rises the river bottom, roads break up and increase the risk of floods.
There are more disasters like floods in the Himalayan regions. Are they natural or due to increase in human activity?
Both have an effect. The Himalayas are sensitive areas. Since 1971, the average temperature here has increased by 1.3 degrees, while across India it rose just 0.7 degrees. That is, the effect on the Himalayas is doubled. This is the reason why incidents of rain and floods have increased here. Apart from this, human activities are also affecting. Earlier people used to live on a particular height (elevation), now due to roads, tourism and new settlements, they have started settling in the river and also in low -lying areas. The river can withdraw its area at any time. Floods used to come earlier also, but then there was not so much loss of life and property.
What kind of preparation should be done to avoid the loss of life and property due to floods?
For this, preparations will have to be made at the district level, not the state. Early warning systems should be strengthened. The automatic weather station has to be strengthened. It is important to take care of when, where and how important development is. Real time data should be found when, where, where, what has happened in the Himalayan upstream. Management of dams is the most important. Community participation should be increased.
Almost all talk about similar measures. But often they are not able to apply on time. The accident that happened in Sikkim was already coming to warns. But action was not taken on time. Is this careless?
It is not right to call it negligence. Institutions never want disasters. The sage Ganga and Dhauli in the Ganges first taught us a lesson. Tapovan did not have a big flood for a long time since 1970, but once suddenly there was a flood in cold weather. This showed that the area is sensitive and then action was taken. Institutions like ISRO, Wadia Institute are constantly melting with the glacier, what is the condition of the waterfalls and how much snow cover is. IMD has started monitoring lakes. Work is underway on the automatic weather station and early warning system. Heavy tenders have been extracted. In the coming time, better monitoring will be possible.
Relief package announcements after disaster, preparation before disaster, what is the most effective of both?
I do not have complete information about this, but as a scientist, I can say that preparing before disaster is a better way. This also happens in many places. For example, flood warnings were received in Arunachal Pradesh. Floods occurred, but the decision was taken on the basis of warning and the action was successful.
Lack of coordination in institutions is believed to be late in disaster action, because work is divided into different departments?
I do not believe so. The synergy between IMD and NDMA is very strong. This is the reason that messages come on mobile four hours before the rains. How long the rain will be and how long will it last cannot be completely estimated. Now the district and tehsil level is being linked to the state’s communication system, so that the information is not delayed. After Dharli, the mobile tower network was closed, causing difficulty in rescue operations. Now such a system is being developed that if you are the user of any company, if the network does not come due to disaster, then the network that is working can keep the mobile connected to it.
How can a balance be brought in development and construction on the mountains?
Gather information about how much weight the mountains can bear. On this basis, the number of passengers coming here should also be fixed. Where how much construction can be done, its rules should be there. And it should be strictly followed.
Is the intensity of urban floods also increasing? Because of this?
Behind this is the absence of drains, encroachment of river areas, filling of wells and ponds. Recent floods in Punjab were caused by increasing water in rivers like Ravi and Sutlej. It can also be associated with global warming. Many old rivers had dried up in Punjab and Haryana and now farming was being done in those places. The river withdraws its area even after the year has passed. The river returns to its place, this is the flood. Studies related to Saraswati river suggest that whenever there is flood in Haryana and Punjab, flood situation continues in the Himalayan regions. That is, both places are connected.
(Scientific and water-resources specialist Dr. Anil Kumar)