Uttarkashi flash floods: Can we prevent the next tragedy?

In Focus by The Hindu · Aug 9, 2025 · 25m

On August 5 in Dharali, a Himalayan village near the Gangotri pilgrimage route, steady rain was followed by the ballooning of a river that destroyed homes and futures. It wasn’t the first such disaster in this region. It began with regular monsoon rain tapping on roofs, creating thin streams down the hillsides. Hours later, a wall of water, rock and mud tore through Dharali. Nestled in Uttarakhand’s upper reaches near Gangotri, Dharali lies close to a sacred source of the Ganga River. But on that day, the river smashed into homes, ripped apart roads and swept away everything in its path…