Gurgaon, 13 Sep (AJAY) : Like millions of Indians I, too, love the Himalayas. Given the slightest opportunity, I love to surrender to its peaks, valleys, gorges, rivers, ponds and pristine water bodies. But on each of these occasions, along with enormous joy, the panoramic mountain range also gives me equal doses of distress.
The reasons are obvious. All of us know that were the Himalayas not there, we wouldn’t exist. Its peaks assist the monsoons. Its glaciers lend our rivers the pride of being perennial. The furniture made of wood on its slopes enhances the grace of our residences. Its beauty invites people from around the world to visit India. It is the undisputed guardian of our borders. It is not without reason that our ancestors anointed it with the title of Devalaya.
Kulkarni’s study is based on extensive research, but there is much that an ordinary person like me can comprehend. Let me give you the example of the Sahastra Dhara near Dehradun. Many years ago, looking at its streams, one got the feeling of having arrived at a mini Manali: waterfalls emerging from the womb of mountain ranges, a dense forest surrounding the mountains and a cool pristine breeze that made the setting even more inviting.
There is a bungalow built by the public works department near the waterfalls, where Jawaharlal Nehru came and stayed and appreciated nature’s bounty. Today the stream of water has become extremely feeble and nature’s glory has been lost. It has been replaced by a number of concrete buildings. There are hundreds of such stories of destruction. As Indians, we haven’t managed to build a hill station after Independence, but we’ve destroyed the existing ones.
Source by : HT
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