** The disaster that shook Uttrakhand on June 16,2013 has left the entire country in turmoil of sadness, death and loss. My prayers go out to the lives lost.**
Un-welcomed monsoon unleashed hell in the Kedarnath valley. This valley is one of the prime pilgrimage centers in India as Kedarnath Temple stands here. It’s existence is said to be traced back to the times of Mahabharat. The temple is a worshipping ground to Lord Shiva . This famous pilgrimage and trekking destination is naturally set-up amidst the toughest terrains in India and is a spot where you can see a unique fusion of faith and trust in God. The very atmosphere of the Kedarnath valley is holy and pure. ( Or say, it WAS until June 16, 2013. )
Explaining the series of events that took place that night isn’t required, thanks to our efficient and unfailing Indian Media. Umpteen news networks are televising documentaries and shows related to this sad incident. This ‘Natural Disaster’ is being referred so as the Himalayan Tsunami, Trasadi, Pralay and what not. Every real and imaginary ( cooked up stories too ) are reaching us through our television sets, the Internet and the newspapers.
Many media organisations have also tried looking into the root cause of this disaster. Various media channels are focusing on how nature planned on taking it’s revenge and plotting against man for exploiting and agitating it throughout these years at the Kedarnath valley while a handful are trying to talk sense into people by concentrating at the geographical factors and man-made errors that converted these flash floods into a torrent of floods, cries and death.
” Nature got furious and wanted to uproot man from its land. This happened because mother Earth had had enough of man’s atrocities. ” ( What BULLSHIT!!! ). I just don’t believe how people can say or show belief in such statements in this Century-Z.
Come on..I mean, If you’re such a theist, you shouldn’t be advocating such statements. It’s sheer illiteracy . What has astrology got to do with a natural disaster?
It is not nature that got furious, it’s man who got foolish..AND IT’S EVIDENT!!
We attempt endlessly at making our country a ‘ tree-free nation ‘ and then we accuse nature and it’s fury.
The riverbed surrounds the temple on both the sides. When years ago, River Mandakini stopped flowing through one of the sides of its riverbed..What did we do? We saw vacant land and pounced at it. Developments on a riverbed!! How intelligent of the mankind !!
From a place of worship, Kedarnath valley is now converted into a place of selling religion in no time.
Look, how the tarnished face of the valley.
*Please, I’m not against pilgrimage. I’m not telling you to stop visiting the Kedar valley.*
The damage done by the floods would not have been such a whooping number had it not been for these developments on the riverbed. The collateral damage would have been very low.
Now, the only structure left intact in the valley after this natural massacre is the Kedarnath Temple itself. To this the survivors and the onlookers are saying that, ” God’s abode stands intact”, ” No harm can be done to the Almighty”. ( Oh God, this is so disturbing. ) The temple stood unharmed because it has a strong foundation, the walls of the temple are strong and thick enough to withstand such an immense water force.
My point here is : Why do people need to connect every natural disaster to nature’s fury or to some satanic conspiracy? Look all around yourself and analyse how we’ve created problems for ourselves.
Had it not been for the global warming, the Chorabari Glacier wouldn’t have already started melting down, the lake could have accumulated flash flood causing no or minimal damage.
We need to either stop depleting the ozone ( Pollution, Global Warming) or stop categorizing every disaster in our country as nature’s fury.
Uncluttered Panorama 