There’s an environmental tragedy that taken around 1000 lives in the northern state of Uttarakhand, India. Heavy rains led to landslides and big boulders and soil being rained on the low-lying pilgrimage centres of Bdrinath, Kedarnath and Rudraprayag. The people killed were mostly pilgrims who visited temples in the area to pray for redemption.
The tragedy was offset by uncontrolled development of the areas by greedy real estate sharks as tourist spots in addition to pilgrimage centres. As a consequence many hotels and resorts have been constructed on unstable earth on the ecologically sensitive Himalayan slopes. With the area receiving continuous rains in the past few weeks the entire hillside came sliding down into the valley where the temples were situated. The people who died were caught unawares as the hotels in which they lived were washed away.
Army helicopters lifted people from remote and inaccessible hilly areas to safer places like Dehra Dun. Yet many more are feared dead or trapped. Relief operations are in full swing with the help of the army.
There are many relief agencies at work including Prime Minister’s Relief Fund. If you wish to contribute something to the Indian Prime Minister’s Relief Fund please do so by clicking this link.