Manali: Days after incessant rains wreaked havoc in Manali, causing devastation on a massive scale. Karjan, a village of Manali 13 kms had a cloudburst on Thursday (20 July, 2023) at midnight.
Himachal Pradesh rainfall has created widespread destruction in the hill state, leading to cloudbursts, landslides, and floods.
Heavy rainfall over Himachal Pradesh is set to continue for the next couple of days, with the IMD sounding a red alert for several areas of District Kullu.
Heavy rainfall in north India has led to several landslides that have in turn blocked roads and left many stranded.
Cloudburst in Karjan has led to heavy damage to roads and farms. Manali Kullu left bank road was blocked causing a traffic disruption.
Joginder Rana, a retired teacher explained that cloudbursts happen when saturated clouds are unable to produce rain because of the upward movement of very warm air. Instead of dropping down, raindrops get bigger in size and get pushed up due to the air current. Eventually they become too heavy to hold and drop down, leading to more cloud bursts.
For a while, it looked as if the swollen mountain rivers were taking revenge against the human absurdities of interfering with nature and the fragile Himalayan ecology. The DPR-based development, which tends to shift the paradigm of evolution of mountains, glaciers and rivers, has taken a hit—a lesson to be learnt here.
Sanjay Dutta, an engineer by qualification but is a journalist by choice.
He has worked for the premier new agency Press Trust of India and leading English daily Indian Express.
With more than a decade of experience, he has been highlighting issues related to environment, tourism and other aspects affecting mountain ecology.
Sanjay Dutta lives in a village close to Manali in Kullu valley of Himachal.
