Unstable development

Uttarakhand’s location at the point where the Indian tectonic plate slides under the Eurasian tectonic plate makes it one of India’s most ecologically fragile regions, a perilous position that global warming and climate change have enhanced. This much was clear in Sunday’s tragedy when a chunk of the Nanda Devi glacier near Joshimath broke off, falling into the river below and triggering an avalanche of mud and water that destroyed two power stations downstream, washed away several villages and left over 100 people, mostly labourers working on NTPC’s hydro-power sites, missing. Early investigations suggest that a glacial lake had formed under the glacier, causing a chunk of it to break off, a geological development associated with global warming. The lesser