When we embarked on the sixth Askot-Arakot Abhiyan in 2024, we realised that the decade since 2014 has brought more changes to Uttarakhand than the previous five decades combined. In terms of road infrastructure, it has been a decade of development—but also one of destruction. Entire mountains have been excavated to make way for roads, tunnels, hydropower projects and other construction activities. But other important aspects of development have not reached people. To get to schools or hospitals, people in remote villages use roads to go to tehsil-block headquarters, towns or cities.
They consume vegetables, fruits and foodgrains grown in the cities of Pilibhit, Moradabad, Najibabad and Terai-Bhabar districts, which may be stale, grown with pesticides or chemical fertilisers. This will change the food habits of their children, even though there is a lot of food grown in their villages. This is a destructive kind of development. Our society and leaders are not ready to understand this yet. Loss of agricultural and pastoral land and increasing out-migration is another warning.
If mountains are dug up, debris is dumped in rivers. This is in addition to debris rivers carry from glaciers. In far-west Nepal, roads are being dug up and debris dumped in the Kali river.
Examining the five decades of the Askot-Arakot campaign, divided into 25 years before and after the formation of Uttarakhand, we see disasters have historically impacted the mountains. But in the past decade, they have become less natural and more human-made. The frequency of floods, excessive rain, landslides and drought has risen. During the march, we saw forest fires on 28 of the 45 days. It is normal for pine forests to catch fire, but we found broad-leaved oak and rhododendron forests ablaze too. With very little snow in higher regions in the previous year and a severe dry spell, forests caught fire with the slightest negligence. Two-three people with asthma found it difficult to breathe, even though these are considered the best areas for clean air. We also saw many incidents of landslides, particularly along the Char Dham route, because rocks were cut without understanding the area’s geology.
Climate change is often blamed for the rise in landslides, but hasty development is the real culprit. As for climate change, there is little clarity, even among scientists, on its impact in the region. But 20-30 years ago, instances of poor or no snowfall were not reported. In recent years, people have felt that dry spells and cloudbursts are increasing abnormally in the mountains.
The social landscape has also grown more complex, with rising intolerance and violence against Dalit communities and minorities over the past decade. Religion and religious sites now hold greater significance than before. Misinformation is widely disseminated in the society.
One positive observation in 2024 was that it has become easier for girls to pursue their studies. Another notable change is the establishment of mahila mangal dals (women’s welfare associations), gram sabhas and non-profits without any government support. Cottage industries have also been set up and handicrafts or traditional crafts have been commercialised in areas such as Dharchula, Joshimath, Dunda and Munsyari. This has led us to believe that, rather than migrating out of villages, people are choosing to stay. The state, however, has failed to address the key issues that emerged during the state creation movement. The movement focused on resources—land, rivers, lakes, forests and biodiversity—as well as decentralisation, more importance to education, healthcare, prohibition, cottage industries and a corruption-free development model centred around women and children.
(Shekhar Pathak is a historian, author and founder of People’s Association for Himalayan Area Research or PAHAR. As told to Raju Sajwan)
This was first published as part of the story ‘Tireless Chroniclers’ in the 1-15 April, 2025 print edition of Down To Earth