ENVIRONMENTAL DISASTERS AND THE QUEST FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE IN UTTARAKHAND, INDIA

On 16 and 17 June 2013, heavy rains together with moraine dammed Chorabari Lake burst caused
flooding of all rivers in Uttarakhand. The flash flood and landslides killed more than 6000 people.
It left approximately 84000 people stranded for several days. Indian Army and its Northern
Command launched one of the largest and most extensive human rescue missions launched in its
history. Spread over 40,000 square kilometres, 45 helicopters were deployed to rescue the
stranded. Increasing human activities are augmenting the risk of natural disasters in the
ecologically sensitive region of Uttarakhand. Everywhere development has been done without a
care for regulations. The economic future of the Himalaya and its people can never be secured if
the already vulnerable region is made more hazard-prone. This paper aims to find out the natural
and manmade causes of this disaster and emphasizes upon the need to be alert about such events in
future.