-Down to Earth Veteran environmentalist spoke to Down To Earth about the ongoing disaster in Uttarakhand   Since the past one week, a major tragedy has been unfolding in the high Himalayas of Uttarakhand. The historic temple town of Joshimath, the gateway to the shrine of Badrinath, has been witnessing scenes of panic and anger as locals protest the cracks in the area. From houses to temples to commercial establishments, nothing has...

-IndiaToday.in Joshimath, a hilly town in Uttarakhand, has raised national concerns as the hill begins to claim its lands. The city is sinking. In Short * The biggest reason why Joshimath is sinking is related to the geography * CM has said that the situation in Joshimath is being closely monitored *The city serves as a tourist rest stop and a staging ground for armed forces Located in the foothills of the Himalayas, Joshimath -- a...

-Newsclick.in Joshimath is a serious warning signal. Any realistic development strategy should balance infra development, acceptable levels of risk, and carrying capacity of the terrai, says the noted expert on earthquakes. Dr. CP Rajendran is among India’s foremost experts on seismo-tectonics, earthquakes and tsunami geology. He is also a strong critic of the development model being pursued in Uttarakhand, a hilly state where the intensity of large-scale infrastructure projects has been rising...

-The Third Pole/ Scroll.in The dams the two countries are relying on may not be able to generate much power if avalanches, landslides and floods continue worsening. As glaciers shrink and monsoon rainfall becomes more unpredictable due to climate change, uncertainty around the viability of hydropower projects in the Hindu Kush Himalayas is increasing. A recent study on the state of a glacier on the southeastern Tibetan Plateau raises questions about the...

-Hindustan Times In north India’s food-bowl states, farmers set aflame paddy stalks around October to clear their fields for their next crop. This releases millions of tonnes of smoke, carbon dioxide stored in plant biomass, toxins and planet-warming gases in the atmosphere. Some environmentalists reckon this to be the deadliest spell of pollution in all of South Asia. In north India’s food-bowl states, farmers set aflame paddy stalks around October to clear...