Cloudburst, while sounding absurd, is a phenomenon that wrecks the lives of many, especially the denizens of the mountains. This fantastical seeming phenomenon to us plain residents occurred late at night in Jadon village, Himachal Pradesh, a state that has continued to retain the grand colonial influence for Himachal Pradesh was the center of attraction for the fair, prone to tan Englishmen that disliked the penetrating summers, they put a lot of effort in this particular region, which already beautiful owing to the lush valleys and snow capped mountains, was now infinitely more captivating to look at now.
At the moment, it is in a state of major crisis with the inevitable landslides disrupting the roads and pathways forcing the educational institutions to close down till today before the situation can be salvaged. Widespread damage to crops, rivers rising at alarming levels, even drains are proving dangerous, and while these are the consequences that manifest each time something like this happens, it is putting the state in deep doubt about the future. With calamities like these regularly happening, the natural cover which is supposed to be the pride of any area is eroding continuously, and the imbalance in it can lead to much more extreme consequences. Reckless tourism has already added fuel to the proverbial fire.
The surrounding areas of Uttarakhand and Nainital, have it no easier, these neighboring states are facing the same consequences, the intensity slightly differing but the measures that are being taken to curb the consequences are pretty much the same, although the administration and the people now seem clueless at their doomed fates, for it is a repetitive problem and that too one with no solution. Human casualties haven’t reached alarming levels yet although they are steadily rising.
It is now high time to make some very important decisions.