Experts blame humans for the recent earthquakes in Himachal

Medium intensity earthquake

(NCS earthquake)

Early Saturday, two back-to-back earthquakes, one of moderate intensity of 3.2 on the Richter scale, rocked Himachal Pradesh, where climate change was already having a drastic and damaging impact.

The haphazard digging of hills for tunnel construction is also forcing rural communities, especially in the fragile and environmentally sensitive areas of Chamba, Knorr and Laul Spiti districts, to clamor against upcoming hydroelectric power plants as cracks appear in their homes and natural water resources disappear. .

In recent years, the leakage of the Shamira-3 project that dredged the village of Mukhar in Chamba district, the explosion of the Aliu-2 project reservoir in Kullu district in its first test, and the leaks in the Karcham Wangtu tunnel. A disaster waiting to happen.

Currently, the 180-megawatt Bajoli-Holi hydropower project in Chamba is facing wrath from the Kadi tribal community as they fear the project will pose a threat to their homes and fields due to cracks and seepage in private and public lands.

The question is whether the country has conducted a scientific assessment of disaster-prone areas, studied geological and hydrological influences to strictly comply with environmental and safety standards, and prepared contingency plans.

These scary facts have been mentioned many times in performance audits by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) to ensure the country is prepared.

According to Himdhara, a state-based environmental working group, the utter negligence is evident on two levels: first, the failure to ensure compliance with environmental and safety standards by the hydropower project authorities and the government, and second, the negligence towards the impacts themselves. Unregulated hydropower development.

Local NGOs and environmental activists are also calling for international financial institutions to be held accountable for funding disastrous Himalayan hydropower projects.

Many shortcomings have surfaced during the crisis, government officials acknowledge.

An official, who requested anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to the media, told IANS in the event of a catastrophe or natural disaster, coordination between government and central agencies involved in relief and rescue operations is almost lacking.

He noted that “no contract officer has been appointed at the state level to coordinate and monitor operations.”

Also, there is no mechanism to reach the affected people in the shortest possible time and there is no dedicated 24/7 helpline service to provide information regarding post-disaster procedures.

“The state does not have a private helicopter to deal with emergencies. Only the official helicopter of the prime minister has been deployed to airlift the victims,” ​​the official added.

The hills of Himachal Pradesh, especially in the districts of Kullu, Shimla and Kinnaur, are more vulnerable to natural disasters like flash floods, cloud floods and landslides.

Official data shows that more than 1,500 people have died in flash floods in the state in the past 20 years.

Besides the construction of massive hydroelectric projects, roads and large-scale unregulated mining generate mountains of debris, which are responsible for increasing the scale of the natural disaster.

The debris is often dumped haphazardly down hillsides and eventually finds its way into rivers and streams, raising the bottom level.

The carrying capacity of rivers and streams decreases, and during heavy rains they often change their course, causing widespread destruction downstream.

State Disaster Management Director Sudesh Kumar Mukta told IANS that the state is ready to deal with any landslide necessity.

When asked about the readiness of the state and the need for an updated disaster plan in the wake of the sinking of the town of Joshimath in the neighboring Himalayan state of Uttarakhand, he replied, “We do not expect any necessity like Joshimath in the state of (Himachal Pradesh).”

But the question is: Like the state of Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh has also undergone unplanned construction of road networks and hydroelectric projects.

Earth sank in several villages and towns in Chamba and Kinnaur in Himachal Pradesh, a wake-up call for the authorities as a powerful forecasting system is becoming lost in the state.

A devastating earthquake in 1905 caused great damage to property in the Kangra district, including St. John’s Church, where many British officials were buried and claimed more than 20,000 lives.

A 2017 performance review on disaster management, with a special focus on earthquakes and fires, conducted by CAG, The Scary Truth said that 90 percent of buildings, especially homes, in rural areas of the state do not follow safe building codes.

In the city of Shimla, 83 per cent of a sample of 300 selected buildings were at severe risk in the event of a major earthquake.

However, the construction of buildings and houses in rural areas (89 percent of all houses) is not regulated by any law.

Thus, construction of earthquake-resistant buildings in rural areas is not guaranteed, CAG notes.

This is a wake-up call for the authorities as the seismic sensitivity of the state is high. Seven out of 12 regions with more than 25 percent of their area are in seismic zone V (extremely high risk of damage).

**

The above article was originally published from Wired with minimal edits to the title and text.

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