Uttarakhand Disaster: Man-Made or the Curse of a Lost Nuclear Device?

Uttarakhand Disaster: Dehradun: Is the disaster in Uttarakhand solely due to man-made causes, or is there a half-century-old secret hidden behind it? The recent obliteration of areas in Uttarakhand, especially villages like Dharali, by flash floods and landslides, points to a terrifying future. While scientists attribute 80% of the cause to unplanned construction and relentless human exploitation of nature, the remaining 20% points to a sensational revelation—a lost nuclear device on the Nanda Devi peak.

The Underlying Causes

Man-Made Factors:

• Unplanned Construction: Numerous hotels, resorts, and houses built on riverbeds and mountain slopes are the primary cause of landslides and floods.
• Deforestation: The felling of trees has reduced the soil’s water retention capacity, increasing the risk of flash floods.
• Climate Change: Global warming is accelerating the rate of glacial melt and causing extreme weather events.

The Lost Nuclear Device:

In 1965, the intelligence agencies of India (IB) and the USA (CIA) planned a secret mission to install a nuclear-powered monitoring device on the Nanda Devi peak. Named ‘Guru Rinpoche’, its purpose was to spy on China’s nuclear activities. However, due to a severe blizzard, the team was forced to cache the device in a cave. Unfortunately, despite extensive searches later, the device was never found.

Impact of the Nuclear Device

According to experts, this lost device contained 50 kg of plutonium, a radioactive substance. It is feared that the device is now damaged, and the radiation it’s emitting is increasing the temperature of the Nanda Devi region. This is causing the glaciers to melt rapidly, leading to devastating floods without cloudbursts, locally known as ‘Harpa Baan’. Such incidents have significantly increased since 2018, reinforcing this fear.

Conclusion

There is no doubt that human greed and indifference to nature are largely responsible for the catastrophe in Uttarakhand. However, the issue of the lost ‘Guru Rinpoche’ on Nanda Devi peak and its potential radioactive leakage cannot be dismissed. To save Uttarakhand from this dual threat, we must not only adopt an eco-friendly development model but also take urgent steps to locate and neutralize this lost nuclear device. Otherwise, we may have to witness even greater disasters in the future.