On August 5 a ‘cloud burst’ occurred in the Himalayan town of Uttarkashi in Uttarakhand, the bordering Indian state of the far-west. Due to this, five people died when a flood, including debris, hit Dharali village there. The condition of 68 people is still unknown. According to the local administration’s statistics, 21 of the missing are Nepali.

The family of Ramesh Budha from Kailali, one of the missing, recently returned home after running out of money. The families of other missing individuals also managed to return home with the help of locals after arriving at the border city of Mahendranagar. Their complaint is that the Indian government was providing Rs 500,000 each to the families of the missing, but they had to beg after returning to their own home (Nepal).

The flood that swept away Dharali village, which is connected to the tourist destination Harsil near Gangotri Dham, not only devastated the area but also jolted the Indian government to be aware of the destruction caused by human encroachment being carried out in the name of development in the hills.

India, which is in the race to become the world’s fourth largest economy, has been continuously forced to face development-induced environmental challenges in the two north-western states of Himachal and Uttarakhand in recent years.

Whenever something happens in the Uttarakhand region, considered Kalapahad, a neighbor of the Far West, the hearths in the huts of the poor up to Karnali are extinguished. It is rare that Nepalis are not affected by the natural disasters created by the development work taking place in this region. However, the state has not shown any interest in these non-citizens, who are forced to enter Kalapahad because the state cannot provide them with employment, it seems. The tendency to consider only those killed in plane crashes as citizens means there is no accounting for those who die in the hills like Dharali. This has not made a difference to anyone until today, and it does not look like it will either.

Twelve years ago, when the Mahakali flood swept away half of the district headquarters of Darchula, thousands were missing due to the flood that followed a cloud burst at the religious destination of Kedarnath in India’s neighboring Uttarakhand. To this day, it is uncertain how many of them were Nepali. In the Kedarnath incident, considered India’s biggest ‘rescue operation’ to date, 5,700 people are missing. According to Tej Singh Bhandari, the Indian coordinator of the Indo-Nepal Joint Action Forum in Banbasa, the border city of Mahendranagar, the number of Nepalis missing in the Kedarnath incident must be large, but only the families of seven missing Nepalis came into contact with him. The Kedarnath journey, where Nepalis are found at every step, is incomplete without Nepalis.

As the lifestyle and environment of the Far West and Karnali match this land of Kumaun, Garhwal, and up to Kangra, which was ruled by the Gorkhali army during the time of Amar Singh Thapa, the people of our region do not feel like they are in a foreign country there. Perhaps this is the reason why youths to elders from most families in the country are wandering in this region to make a living. Many of their generations have been sweating on the hills here.

It is not a big deal to find Nepalis all over India, but the situation of Nepalis who have made an identity as Gorkhali laborers in Himachal and Uttarakhand is different. Seeing their difficult working lives makes one wonder what kind of political change has taken place in Nepal in the last three decades.

Whether under the head-baskets of pilgrims going to Kedarnath or under the palanquins of pilgrims going to Badrinath and Yamunotri, the sight of a Nepali sweating makes one’s heart ache. Since Gangotri is considered a bit easier, Nepalis are also the ones pushing the pilgrims in wheelchairs here to their destination, Bhagirathi, or the lap of the Ganga.

Environmental challenges

India, which is in the race to become the world’s fourth largest economy, has been continuously forced to face development-induced environmental challenges in the two north-western states of Himachal and Uttarakhand in recent years. Nepal, which stretches for one thousand kilometers in the Hindu Kush Himalayan region, is also not untouched by this environmental problem.

Whether it is a Nepali breaking stones at the source of the Gangotri, a Nepali picking apples around Shimla, the capital of Himachal, or a Nepali building roads for the Indian army, cutting through the difficult gorges of Ladakh, they are the ‘brand ambassadors’ who introduce Nepal here.

In Nepal too, the devastating flood that came to Bhote Koshi on July 9 caused damage to the Rasuwagadhi border with China, the Timure Inland Container Depot, and under-construction hydroelectric projects like Upper Trishuli and Trishuli Three B, among others. The flood, said to have been caused by a glacial lake outburst, not only caused economic loss for the country but is also not a good environmental sign.

There is a problem, but like the changing scenes in a movie, no one has the time to think about the non-citizens of Kalapahad due to the constantly changing political landscape in Nepal. Nepal, with a similar ecosystem, needs to learn from these Indian states, which are on the fast track of development.

Among the eight river systems in India, the Ganga, which falls in this region, is the main and the complete river. However, the Ganga, which originates from the Gaumukh glacier, has been subjected to various obstructions in the name of development until it reaches the pilgrimage city of Haridwar, due to changing human lifestyles and energy crises.

The Tehri Dam, considered the highest in India, is on the Ganga. Development work is going on accordingly in this region of Uttarakhand, India’s newest state. Roadways, tunnels, and hydroelectric projects are at the forefront of this. The road built by India to go to Mansarovar, a religious site in Tibet, China, using Nepali territory of Lipulekh along the Kali river, is also part of this.

Due to the presence of India’s Himachal state to the west and the border of Tibet-China, which they traditionally consider an enemy, to the north, the Indian army has a thick presence in this area, which is being developed as a Hindu religious tourism destination. Ten security personnel are also missing in the Dharali incident.

According to meteorologists, a ‘cloud burst’ is when more than 100 millimeters of rain falls in an area of 20 to 30 square kilometers in an hour or less. Mathematically, this is equivalent to 100 million liters of water falling in one square kilometer area.

Whether it is a Nepali breaking stones at the source of the Gangotri, a Nepali picking apples around Shimla, the capital of Himachal, or a Nepali building roads for the Indian army, cutting through the difficult gorges of Ladakh, they are the ‘brand ambassadors’ who introduce Nepal here.

Uttarkashi, located about 150 kilometers north of Haridwar, is the ‘gateway’ hill town to the four Hindu pilgrimage sites: Yamunotri, Gangotri, Badrinath, and Kedarnath. It is felt that the demography of this area, which bears the burden of millions of pilgrims annually, is changing with the economic changes brought about by increasing tourism.

The Tehri Dam, the world’s 13th highest with a height of 260.5 meters, which started in 1978 and was completed in 2006, produces one thousand megawatts of clean energy for India. This ambitious dam, built by completely submerging the old Tehri city, considered the capital of Garhwal, along with landmarks like the clock tower and King’s Court, and 24 villages, displaced thousands of citizens. With an area of 52 square kilometers submerged, 88 villages are partially submerged due to this dam. Eleven ongoing projects on the Ganga have produced 1,644 megawatts of electricity for India.

According to the latest data from the Uttarakhand government, 233 companies have been licensed to generate power in the Ganga and its tributaries. In Uttarakhand and Himachal, the states considered to be the solution to India’s energy crisis, the environment has been shattered in the name of development, and the coming days are no less challenging.

According to meteorologists, a ‘cloud burst’ is when more than 100 millimeters of rain falls in an area of 20 to 30 square kilometers in an hour or less. Mathematically, this is equivalent to 100 million liters of water falling in one square kilometer area.

‘India’s Atlas on Weather Disasters’, which keeps and analyzes seasonal disaster data in India, has brought a frightening statistic through a study conducted in the Hindu Kush Himalayan region. This region is facing ‘Extreme Weather Events’ like heat waves, floods, and droughts for many days of the year. From 2022 to March 2025, 13 Himalayan states, from Jammu and Kashmir to Sikkim, are facing ‘Extreme Weather Events’ seven out of every ten days. Due to this, 2,863 people have died during this period. These states have already faced this weather system 70 percent in 2024 and 96 percent in the first three months of 2025.

Scientists consider climate change, glacier explosion, and cloud burst to be the three main reasons for natural disasters caused by the changing weather system. It may take time for Kathmandu’s attention to turn to Kalapahad, but it is already late to draw up a new framework to face the changed seasonal cycle and the environmental challenges within the country.