Oh My God-The Climate Change!!

June 2013, there was an abrupt change in weather. An unexpected pre monsoon had hit the Northern parts of India giving relief from the scorching heat. It turned from hot to humid and everybody enjoyed the first splashes of rain. It was a typical chai pakora time! The fragrance of mud after the first rain, the fresh green colour of leaves, the moisture in the skin, frogs and toads on the roads and off course a happy heart within  that kept on saying thank you  god.

As they say, if good things come to your door unexpectedly then you should be prepared for the bad ones too. But who cares for the sayings…Unless one experience it.The unexpected rain that started in the second week of June didn’t stop for next 4-5 days. Now it was not drizzling it was pouring cats and dogs! The excess water was no way under control and was causing hindrances in performing day to day activities. After the hot dry months there was water all around but it was so much in excess that people specially the farmers were panicked. Finally the week long rain paused with the worst climatic disaster that nobody expected.

The Cloud Burst in Kedarnath- and from thank you god the statement changed to Oh My God!

One of the four Dhams of North, the Kedarnath Dham was completely wrecked! The plight was so miserable that a number of villages in its vicinity completely disappeared. There was no sign of people who once lived in the area. Those who survived luckily or unluckily were almost dead as they lost their homes, their livelihood and most precious, their family members. The symbol of life i.e. water proved out to be demise for them. There was hue and cry all around. The people from plains who went there in summer vacations were regretting their decision. The beauty of Himalayas that mesmerised the world became a cause of suffering for many.

This episode of nature’s calamity once again raised the question, Nature or Science who’s the head master? Nature has gifted us all the beautiful and natural things in the world. The ice clad mountains, the dessert, the rivers, the deep seas, the oceans, the islands, the continents, the hot water springs, the sky, the rainbow, the dew drops,  air to breathe and off course the living beings are all blessings of nature. Science, no doubt has helped us to unravel the secrets of nature and has also helped us to develop a logical and reasonable approach in our lives. Science gifted us the theories and laws and based on these theories and laws we can see latest technologies, improved commutation, flyovers, bridges, dams, strong buildings and what not. Our dependency on science has made us too insensitive towards nature. We see the future of our country in engineers, doctors, journalists, charted accountants and even BPO professionals but are always unsure with respect to environmentalists. The cloud burst in Kedarnath is a live and sad example in this context.

There are vast geographical differences around the world. Owing to the geographical differences the mountains of The Northern India are too fragile for any solid construction. The construction of dams (like Tehri Dam) in such areas has definitely solved the problem of electricity crises but equally raised the issue of disturbance of nature’s equilibrium. Further, due to rain and transportation via heavy vehicles on the fragile roads of Himalayas leads to destruction of the roads every year. In order to rearrange the roads cutting of mountains is a regular practice. Deforestation is an additional problem. Kedarnath is not just one example, there are many. The mountains that are already gifted to us in its weak form by Mother Nature, human is trying to weaken it further by applying his theories and laws. I doubt, how practical, scientific and reasonable is it?

Ignorance can be harmful. We always need the blessings of the almighty. It has the power to create and to destroy. Let us not be too practical to apply science everywhere without thinking of its consequences. We have enough reasons to be happy and we owe a lot to The Mother Nature. So, our acts should be worthy enough to say Thank You God instead of Oh My God.

Author’s Bio

Diksha Dhyani Kala  hails from Dehradun , Uttarakhand . She is very close to nature and is very sensitive to environmental issues. Working as a Chemical Analyst in Geological Survey of India, she believes that vigilance towards environment can help us to maintain it. She hopes that world will be green and clean one day.

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