Prelude to Nanda Devi East Expedition 2013: Part II

(Read Part I of this story here:
http://nanda-devi-east.blogspot.in/2013/04/prelude-to-nanda-devi-east-expedition.html)

Part II

The River

“Stop flattering me to cover up your inertness, you oaf. I know what I truly am-a lost individual rushing through her Karma to get back her individuality. Or should it be universality? Do you know what that is? The ocean. That is my origin, culmination and true identity. But these are deep things which you will never understand. Stuck in one place, you don’t even know what the ocean is. Nor do you know the peak from which I descend to attain my identity."

So said the river to the tree in ‘Param’, a book by ‘Samarpan’.  But looks like no one but the tree was listening, at least not us the human beings. 

The river and the tree, Sundarban. Photo: Anindya Mukherjee

India has been an independent country for the last 66 years. It is the seventh largest country in the world. The second most populous country and the most populous democracy in the world! 

Some say our economy is the 10th largest by nominal GDP and the 3rd largest by the Purchasing Power Parity. No matter how huge that may sound, the fact is, after all these years, we have not been able to bring social justice. We have not been able to feed every mouth. We have not been able to build shelter over each family. We have not been able to build enough schools or even eradicate malnutrition. Why? Well many of the failures will route to this fact that we have not been able to wipe out corruption from our system. At all! 

Like an irreversible carcinoma it has been spreading, seeping deep through all the layers of society. Fine, we understand. Unity in diversity, they say in school text books. True, such diversity we have, geographical, social, linguistic, religious, cultural, political. Yet, rising above all, there is unity in one thing- corruption. We have not been able to clean the mess. And it seems like it is getting worse by the day.  Is there even an intention? Has there ever been any? No, in spite of promises, the garbage keeps piling up.

Only one place remained untouched, unscathed. The Himalaya. The ultimate pilgrimage for millions of Indians for centuries. It meditated in bliss oblivious of the heinous acts plaguing its plains among the populace. Could it be that the pained screams were heard by the high mountains of the snows? Could it be that this made even the abode of the snow sad and sorry? We do not know. 

And, then they had to plant a nuclear powered listening device on one of the most significant mountains in the Indian Himalaya- Nanda Devi (7816m). Of course, how could they leave the mighty Himalaya out of their dirty politics? 

Nanda Devi from the Deotoli Col. Photo: Anindya Mukherjee, where is Deotoli Col?  Visit this link: http://aaj.americanalpineclub.org/climbs-and-expeditions/asia/india/uttaranchal/2011-dudh-ganga-col-5350m-and-deotoli-col-5400m-first-ascents-by-anindya-mukherjee-india/

Since then, we keep coming across many versions of their story on how they managed to lose a plutonium powered device high up Nanda Devi (1965) and then came the sudden closure of the Nanda Devi Sanctuary (1982). The naughty nuclear affair was admitted in the parliament by politicians . But the official reason for closing down the sanctuary back then and still is the word -‘conservation’! But of course, they are politicians right? How much truthfulness can one expect from them anyway? 

" Conservation", when one hears this word, feels positive about it. After all our ravaging, come let us conserve it. Man, this sounds so righteous! Righteous, yet ridiculous and contradictory! Why? Well, if you have something closed, conserved, protected; then why let big military expeditions go in there in regular intervals? Are they carrying Geiger counters along with their train of porters and helicopter drops of food? 

Secondly, if the Himalayan ecology is so fragile, why give permission to build dams right along the edges of the sanctuary. Destructive dams, erasing history, culture, nature once and for all. Where is your righteous 'conservation' now? Guys you are putting the term 'pork barrel politics' to shame! 

I am sure not everyone will agree that dam building has few redeeming qualities. Some people would mention flood control for urban areas, a commonly used excuse for constructing dams. But does an upstream dam really protect the floodplain of a river from flooding? Do we really have many dammed rivers that have not also had flooding disasters downstream? Do dams simply delay the economic disasters of major floods rather than prevent them forever? Ask the people downstream who have survived a broken dam if the trauma was worth the protection offered against a few years of minor flooding. Is the protection-from-flooding feature attributed to river dams simply another public acceptance without objective evaluation of the true worth?

Reconsidering the whole process associated with constructing river dams would be healthy. Should we stop building any more and even remove a few already in place? After all, removing some dams would create jobs, not to mention making for healthier river ecosystems.

I feel it is about time they should open up the Nanda Devi Sanctuary for mountaineers, trekkers and Himalaya lovers. I am 41. Like many mountaineers across the globe, I am being denied of the chance to visit one of the most amazing places on this earth. 

Will they open it in my lifetime? Well, if they do, even as a regulated group of expeditions and treks in the sanctuary, will put an end to poaching and illegal picking of the yarsagumba ( caterpillar fungus). Will they? Doubtful. 

Well, you can keep your secrets in your radiation proof bureaucracy. Do us one favour. Stop building destructive dams in the Himalaya for a change.

Gori Ganga pic. Sukanta Deb Mandal