An Uncertain Future

Raini is a village in Chamoli district in Uttarakhand. It is located on the riverbanks, at the confluence of Rishiganga and Dhauliganga rivers.

Gaura Devi—a grassroots activist and a community leader, who was one of the pioneers of the Chipko movement—lived here.

In 1974, Gaura Devi and other women from the village hugged the trees to save them when they came to know that local contractors were coming to their village to chop the trees.

The Chipko movement spread throughout the Himalayas. The Raini incident prompted the state government to set up a committee which led to a 10-year ban on commercial forestry in Raini and in nearly 1,200 sq km of the upper catchment of the Alaknanda. Another response to Chipko was the formation of a Van Nigam in 1975. It is said that the Forest Conservation Act of 1980 and the very creation of the environment ministry are due to the consciousness created by Chipko.

Gaura Devi’s son Chandra Singh and his wife Ukha Devi live in the same village and have been continuing the good work started by Gaura Devi. Chandra Singh, however, said mindless development has taken over and the projects initiated in the hills are causing a lot of damage. The mountains have become very fragile.

On February 7, 2021, the Tapovan-Raini region was hit by a sudden flood after a glacier broke off and slid down the valley. It caused massive flooding in the Dhauliganga and Alaknanda rivers. The violent surge swept away the Rishiganga Hydro Electric Project. More than 200 people died in the incident.

The geologists who surveyed the region after the glacier burst declared that the mountain slope on which Raini village stood was highly unstable. They declared Raini unfit for living and recommended rehabilitation of the village. But nothing happened after that.

Darbar Singh Rana’s 32-year-old son Yashpal got swept away in 2021. He was herding his sheep near the river when the flash floods hit. His body was found three days later.

He says while some people received compensation, many have not. Moreover, villagers are living in constant fear. He says because trees have been chopped, there is nothing to stop the glaciers from sliding down the villages and causing devastation.

Many homes in Raini have developed cracks. People fear that one heavy rainfall or even a mild earthquake will wipe out the entire village.