Letters to The EDITOR: The Himalayas are Warming Up

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The Himalayas are warming up

Once upon a time, people went to Badrinath, Kedarnath, Manasarovar and other strenuous tirthas mostly in their later life after fulfilling most of their responsibilities, as they were not sure if they could come back alive. Poor infrastructure was an issue back then, and vehicles could dive into deep gorges any moment. Many people died as well.

Gradually with the improvement of infrastructure, people are now visiting the Himalayan pilgrimage sites even in their 20s and 30s, though not all of them are pilgrims. The current Nepal disaster and various other disasters that are happening with regularity must provide us a reason to rethink this matter.

In the 2013 Uttarakhand floods, more than 1,00,000 people got trapped, thousands of people died, hundreds went missing, and the forces had to work incessantly for the rescue operations.

It was never a good idea to over-promote tourism in the extremely delicate and ecologically sensitive areas of the Himalayas. This year, the first 30 days of the 2026 yatra saw a record-breaking influx of nearly 1.5 million visitors to Kedarnath, Badrinath, Gangotri, and Yamunotri. Joshimath choked under a 25 km traffic jam earlier this year. Kailash Mansarovar is also witnessing a massive increase in footfall. The Rasuvagadhi route, where so many people were swept away recently, has seen an approximately 18.75% year-on-year increase in pilgrims.

Himalaya's collective ranges need seclusion and are places for attaining peace, power and enlightenment through meditation and spirituality.

Let's not get lured by the better infrastructure and social media. When nature hits back against mindless development, no technology can uphold the torture. There are no easy solutions here, but the unnecessary crowds in the sensitive ranges should be checked on.

And I strongly believe that no matter what the age is, "Teerath" should be done with a pilgrimage mindset only and not just for hype, photos, reels and uploads and the fear of missing out.  Teerath is not just a holiday... It is the "Holy" days ... and should be embraced only when the mind is truly devoted with devotion and surrender.

Moushumi Acharjee

Kahilipara, Guwahati