There goes an adage that says ‘Rome was not built in a day’ similarly rebuilding of Uttarakhand is going to take a very long time. One cannot imagine a devastation of this nature. While many have been rendered homeless in the affected districts such as Uttarkashi, Rudraprayag, TehriGrhwal and Chamoli, a whole lot have lost their livelihood and unemployment stares at them and how.I would like to give you an idea of the place Uttarkashi where I had stationed myself for relief operations.
Uttarkashi situated at an altitude of 1352 meters is one of the worst affected districts. 40 kms away from Yamnotri and 100 kms away from Gangotri both part of the pilgrimage tour- ‘Chardham Yatra’ has been thriving due to tourism.
Uttarkashi, meaning Kashi of the North itself is considered abode of gods due to the presence of so many temples and ashrams in that one small town. Similar to Varanasi, Uttarkashi is also situated on the Ganges, lies next to a hill named Varun Parvat where there is a confluence of two rivers Varun Ganga and Asi Ganga and has a ghat called Manikarna Ghat. It also has the famous Kashi Vishwanath Temple dedicated to lord Shiva right in the centre of town. Apart for this there is the Kandar Devta Mandir (temple) and Ganga Mandir. Uttarkashi is also famous for the Nehru Institute of Mountaineering (NIM).
There were several places within the Uttarkashi town that were affected. But, Joshiyara, which adjoins the Uttarkashi town and is situated alongside the Bhagirathi river was worst affected. There are close to 300 households I was told in this small place. It also has the famous temple, Kaleshwar Mandir, dedicated to Lord Shiva. This small village was one of the affected during the recent floods. Several new construction buildings that came along the banks fell like a pack of cards.
Last month many watched helplessly as their homes got washed away. Preetam Gumber, a resident of Uttarkahi town who owns a grocery shop in the market and also runs a hotel Radhika Palace nearby watched helplessly as part of his house situated just on the banks of the river next to the Ganga Mandir (temple) got washed away. He and his family shifted into their hotel which was empty as most who had booked rooms until September had cancelled their trips to Uttarkashi, Uttarakhand.
Similarly, one another gentleman from Joshiyara who had lost everything was seen sitting on the streets staring at his broken home. As I approached him and asked him If I could help in any way, the old fragile and wrinkled gentleman turned around and looked at me and said , “Beta ab main kya chahu. Kuch nahi chaiye mujhe . Joh bhi tha sab chala gaya’. (What can I wish for now. All that I had is washed away). He further added that whether I get ration or anything that is being given as relief does not make a difference to him as he had lost his several years savings and the house he had built. ‘Kahan se shuruaat Karun. Pata Nahi’ (where do I begin all over again I do not understand) he said.
This is the question being asked by one and all in this Uttarkashi district. Be it a man who lost is home in the town area or Joshiyara or the man who lost his house in the upper reaches of Uttarkashi, both have seen their houses and livelihood disappear in front of their eyes in the floods.
Gopal Thapliyal, project manager at Sri Bhuvaneshwari Mahila Ashram (SBMA), an NGO that has been operating in Uttarkashi for the last 3 decades and has its office in Joshiyara says: “This tragedy has affected the locals a lot. The locals were dependent on Tousirm. Thousands here work as porters, drivers, guides and waiters. But due to lack of business they have been rendered jobless. In most areas affected by the floods, their entire economy is based on tourism. Adventure tour companies that have been helping the locals as well as helped in rescue operations of the pilgrims are left with no work currently. All of them have lost business for this year. For some their losses run into lakhs.
Tourism provides employment, directly or indirectly, to a significant number of the people residing in villages near the tourist spots in Uttarakhand. One is not sure as to whether people will now be willing to come to Uttarakhand at all.
However, what surprised me is that most are positive in their outlook for future. While they are very clear that they will not move out of Uttarkashi and Uttrakhand they will find means to be able to rebuild their lives.
The task now is how does one rebuild this state?. It’s a mammoth task at hand.
Uttarkashi situated at an altitude of 1352 meters is one of the worst affected districts. 40 kms away from Yamnotri and 100 kms away from Gangotri both part of the pilgrimage tour- ‘Chardham Yatra’ has been thriving due to tourism.
Uttarkashi, meaning Kashi of the North itself is considered abode of gods due to the presence of so many temples and ashrams in that one small town. Similar to Varanasi, Uttarkashi is also situated on the Ganges, lies next to a hill named Varun Parvat where there is a confluence of two rivers Varun Ganga and Asi Ganga and has a ghat called Manikarna Ghat. It also has the famous Kashi Vishwanath Temple dedicated to lord Shiva right in the centre of town. Apart for this there is the Kandar Devta Mandir (temple) and Ganga Mandir. Uttarkashi is also famous for the Nehru Institute of Mountaineering (NIM).
There were several places within the Uttarkashi town that were affected. But, Joshiyara, which adjoins the Uttarkashi town and is situated alongside the Bhagirathi river was worst affected. There are close to 300 households I was told in this small place. It also has the famous temple, Kaleshwar Mandir, dedicated to Lord Shiva. This small village was one of the affected during the recent floods. Several new construction buildings that came along the banks fell like a pack of cards.
Last month many watched helplessly as their homes got washed away. Preetam Gumber, a resident of Uttarkahi town who owns a grocery shop in the market and also runs a hotel Radhika Palace nearby watched helplessly as part of his house situated just on the banks of the river next to the Ganga Mandir (temple) got washed away. He and his family shifted into their hotel which was empty as most who had booked rooms until September had cancelled their trips to Uttarkashi, Uttarakhand.
Similarly, one another gentleman from Joshiyara who had lost everything was seen sitting on the streets staring at his broken home. As I approached him and asked him If I could help in any way, the old fragile and wrinkled gentleman turned around and looked at me and said , “Beta ab main kya chahu. Kuch nahi chaiye mujhe . Joh bhi tha sab chala gaya’. (What can I wish for now. All that I had is washed away). He further added that whether I get ration or anything that is being given as relief does not make a difference to him as he had lost his several years savings and the house he had built. ‘Kahan se shuruaat Karun. Pata Nahi’ (where do I begin all over again I do not understand) he said.
This is the question being asked by one and all in this Uttarkashi district. Be it a man who lost is home in the town area or Joshiyara or the man who lost his house in the upper reaches of Uttarkashi, both have seen their houses and livelihood disappear in front of their eyes in the floods.
Gopal Thapliyal, project manager at Sri Bhuvaneshwari Mahila Ashram (SBMA), an NGO that has been operating in Uttarkashi for the last 3 decades and has its office in Joshiyara says: “This tragedy has affected the locals a lot. The locals were dependent on Tousirm. Thousands here work as porters, drivers, guides and waiters. But due to lack of business they have been rendered jobless. In most areas affected by the floods, their entire economy is based on tourism. Adventure tour companies that have been helping the locals as well as helped in rescue operations of the pilgrims are left with no work currently. All of them have lost business for this year. For some their losses run into lakhs.
Tourism provides employment, directly or indirectly, to a significant number of the people residing in villages near the tourist spots in Uttarakhand. One is not sure as to whether people will now be willing to come to Uttarakhand at all.
However, what surprised me is that most are positive in their outlook for future. While they are very clear that they will not move out of Uttarkashi and Uttrakhand they will find means to be able to rebuild their lives.
The task now is how does one rebuild this state?. It’s a mammoth task at hand.
