UTTARAKHAND UNDER WATER
DONE BY : AVIELLA , CHAARULATHA , ASHWIKA AND NIRANJANA
A DISASTER IN UTTARAKHAND..............
As the rains and cloudburst ravaged Uttarakhand on 15th June, 2013 thousands of pilgrims who had embarked their journey to the holy places of Kedarnath and Badrinath were left shell shocked by the pernicious circumstances that they ended up facing. The state received 313 mm rainfall from 14th June to 17th June, which is 375 per cent above the normal benchmark of 65.9 mm rainfall received every year.
Steps taken by the government
The government sent aircrafts to evacuate thousands stranded in rain-ravaged Uttarakhand. As many as 33,152 persons were moved to safer areas by the rescue operations launched by the Central and state governments.The Railways along with the Uttarakhand government had offered to send all stranded passengers free of cost
to their respective destinations. Helping people rebuild their lives was the biggest challenge for the Uttarakhand government - in fact, for the whole country.
STEPS TAKEN BY LOCAL COMMITTEES .
Non-Governmental Organizations have undertaken projects to help out the victims, aimed at collecting and sending urgent relief materials (rice, pulses, biscuits, blankets, woolens, sanitary napkins, utensils, torches batteries, candles, bottles etc.) and essential medicines (Betadine, First Aid kits, Hydrogen Peroxide and vitamins).
- One such NGO is Goonj, which has started an operation “Rahat Floods”. Anyone can help them in money or in kind.
- Another organization is Uday Foundation. They have initiated their Uttarakhand Relief Operation.
- NGO Pragya has also launched a relief operation for the victims of the flashflood in Chamoli, Uttarkashi and Pithoragarh districts in Uttarakhand, Kinnaur district in Himachal Pradesh.
REASONS FOR THE DISASTER
Natural reasons:
- From 14 to 17 June 2013 Uttrakhand and the near by states received heavy rainfall.
- The rainfall was above benchmark which is 375%
- A multi-day cloud burst, centered on the state Uttrakhand caused devastating floods and landslides.
- Due to continues rain, the Chorabari Glacier melted and this triggered the flooding of the Mandakini river. which led to heavy flood near Gobindghat, Kedar Dome, Rudraprayag district , Uttrakhand.
Man-made reasons:
- The true causes of epic tragedy is growth of tourism, unchecked rapid increase of roads, hotels, shops and multistory housing in ecologically fragile areas and unplanned construction are the reason for landslides
- Also rapid growth of hydroelectricity dams that disrupt water balances and this also triggered the action of the disaster.
DEFORESTATION is also one of the most important factor of Uttrakhand disaster which cause frequently landslides.