Message from the mountains

Himachal, Uttarakhand must check construction projects

The rising death toll from rain and landslides in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand over the past week is yet another tragic reminder of how state administrations prioritise tourism income over basic safety standards. The latest disaster has exposed the wilful disregard for basic environmental norms by permitting uncontrolled and unplanned construction of roads and buildings in one of the world’s most ecologically fragile regions. Such tragedies recur with varying intensity each summer and monsoon season, yet no local administration appears to have absorbed the fundamental lessons from them. In Uttarakhand, for instance, flash floods killed more than 300 people in