In the evening hours – on the trek route to Hemkund Sahib – glimpse of the crowd of tired but satisfied people slowly stepping down to reach the road head is commonplace. Some of these are in groups, but then some prefer travelling solo and maintain distance. Others like to gossip and share experiences – […]
Uttarakhand
आपदाओं का होना या ना होना हमारे हाथ
Disasters are caused by the process of slowly accruing vulnerability due to human actions and decisions, and certainly not by nature.
Why is Joshimath sinking
Why is Joshimath sinking all of a sudden is an obvious question that comes to the mind of people following incidences in Uttarakhand. Piping of finer material embedded in the old slide material on the valley slope by the breach of some confined aquifer and accompanying distress seems to be the logical explanation. Scientific and technical institutions investigating the causes of distress are sure to add value to this assumption.
Imported cheetah vs desi guldar
Elementary history lessons are enough to tell us that all that comes from alien lands does not always have savour and flavour. Consequences of centuries of blatant loot by East India Company and later British Raj proves this – from global leader in manufacturing and exports commanding around 23 percent of the global economy at the beginning of the […]
Human psychology and aggravated disaster risk
Despite geographical, religious, cultural and linguistic diversity humans think, act and react in amazingly similar fashion, particularly during distress and life threatening situations. This is attributed to evolution, as behavioural traits providing relative advantage and maximizing chances of survival get engrained in our behavior and psychology. Though evolved through the struggle for survival and aimed […]
संता – बंता और भूकम्प सुरक्षा
संता – भाई आजकल कुछ ज्यादा भूकम्प नहीं आ रहे हैं? बंता – हो सकता है भूकम्प तो उतने ही आ रहे हो पर हमें पता ज्यादा चल रहा हो – संवेदनशील उपकरणों व मीडिया के कारण? संता – क्या मतलब? बंता – बाकी की आपदाओं का तो भाई पता नहीं, पर दुनिया भर के भूकम्प के […]
Joshimath like ground fissure reports
Cracks and fissures are being reported from many places of Uttarakhand soon after the recent ground subsidence incidence around Joshimath, cause of which still eludes the scientists and experts. It is a cause of serious concern as neither the people not the state are in a position to bear the burden of similar incidences.
Ground subsidence around Joshimath
Habitations have come into existence, primarily as a consequence of basic human urge to socialise and stay together, perhaps for safety and security, more than anything else. It is around these settlements that humans started various livelihood chores including agriculture, hunting and gathering. Settlements in the hills Agriculture being the primary economic activity in the […]
संता-बंता और आने वाला बड़ा भूकम्प
High risk posed to UP & NCR from future Himalayan earthquake calls for augmenting earthquake safety initiatives & promoting warning app of Uttarakhand.
Earthquake early warning – An illusion
After a series of earthquakes in the recent past in western Nepal and Pithoragarh, the earthquake early warning (EEW) system operated by USDMA in Uttarakhand has been the focus of most seismic safety related debates. Obsessed with the glitter and fancy of early warning most disaster risk reduction (DRR) enthusiasts often tend to consider it the ultimate […]