The downpour has exacted a heavy toll. HP reported 108 deaths till July 14 while Uttarakhand reported 26 till July 15. During this period, landslides blocked hundreds of roads almost daily in Uttarakhand, including the prestigious all-weather Char Dham highway, causing hardship and economic losses to residents and tourists. A bridge collapse on the Girthi river affected defence movement to the Indo-Tibet border in the Chamoli district. Power and water supplies were disrupted and schools closed for several days in both the states. Bridges have been submerged or collapsed, landslides and rockfalls have flooded towns and breached highways, and several buildings and vehicles have been swept away. The devastation is particularly stark in HP.

During this disaster, the Beas has been at its most destructive, but not only due to natural causes. Several large hydropower dams in the upper Beas basin above Mandi made sudden unplanned releases due to the threat of floods in their own catchments. These additional surges into the already swollen river enhanced downstream damages. Similar problems were seen in Uttarakhand. On July 11, the Uttarakhand Jal Vidyut Nigam Limited, the state hydropower developer in Uttarakhand, shut 17 of its 19 plants to prevent silt-laden waters from damaging turbines.

The dam-related problems could have been significantly minimised if the Union ministries of jal shakti or environment, forests and climate change had scientifically established environmental flows and ensured that dam operators followed them, as repeatedly advised by river ecologists and activists.

The worst destruction occurred around infrastructure sites. Small mountain streams with steep valleys have limited flood-bearing capacity. Construction debris from infrastructure projects is routinely dumped into such streambeds, further lowering their flood-bearing capacity. A clip recorded by local residents showed a ferocious, muddy deluge carrying logs down a steep streambed and smashing into a market lane in Thunag town, wreaking havoc in its main market. This newspaper carried a report on construction debris and illegally felled tree trunks having been dumped in the streambed by a road construction project in the upstream Thandi village, home of the former chief minister Jairam Thakur. The Thandi road is one of several infrastructure projects in the area which is also Thakur’s electoral constituency. Such projects are often poorly planned and shoddily constructed to meet accelerated construction deadlines. Contractors unrealistically lower their budgets to win projects that later stoke disasters.

A drone video showed large breaches – some well over 100 metres – in the four-lane Mandi-Manali National Highway, leaving about 7,000 vehicles in Manali stranded. In some places, the highway actually seemed to be built on the river bank. In these stretches, the road was likely constructed on colluvial deposits (soft sediments) and toe erosion by the swollen Beas led to the breaches. Similar failures were noted in 2013 on the Kedarnath highway in Uttarakhand, but highway developers and engineers seem to have learned little from that disaster. The washing away of a chunk of the Badrinath highway in Uttarakhand offered more proof of the same depressing phenomenon.

The violation of an HP high court rule that buildings must be at least 100 metres away from river banks was dramatically demonstrated when a three-story hotel collapsed into the Beas in Manali. Indeed, hotels and homestays continue to mushroom on Manali’s river banks. Violations of a similar rule are evident in Haridwar, Rishikesh and other Uttarakhand riverside towns.

Rising atmospheric carbon dioxide levels, global warming and higher ocean temperatures generate more moisture-laden clouds, but local conditions determine the fallout of extreme rainfall events. Their intensities and frequencies appear to be increasing in India and worldwide. When these events occur in highly populated or economically developed areas, the loss of life and destruction of nature, infrastructure and property is massive.

Enhanced security for the environment, life, infrastructure and property demands good governance to ensure effective regulations, adherence to safety codes, and honest, regular monitoring during and after construction. Improved structural safety factors, that account for heightened rainfall and flood intensities, and adherence to good engineering practices can reduce death and destruction.

Unfortunately, good governance is hard to find. Since people’s lives and life-support systems are at stake when infrastructure-induced disasters occur, they must have an effective voice in the planning, sanctioning and monitoring of infra projects. Honestly prepared environment impact assessments (EIA) and public hearings can help maximise the security of nature, lives, and property. Hence the steady weakening of regulatory systems and the EIA framework should be condemned as anti-people and anti-nature and, in spite of establishment claims, against efficient economic growth.

Finally, larger questions loom. What is the carrying capacity of the fragile Himalayan region? What are the limits of sustainable economic growth? Can we keep destroying Himalayan forests and still avoid disasters? Can we keep encouraging more tourists to drive their SUVs through eco-sensitive Himalayan river valleys?

It’s now up to the people to find answers.

Ravi Chopra is a veteran environmentalist. The views expressed are personal.