New Delhi: Former Union minister Uma Bharti has cautioned the BJP towards committing the “sin” of destroying the Himalayas, the Ganga, and different ever-flowing rivers, as she sought in charge her personal party-led governments on the Centre and Uttarakhand for the damaging flash floods within the state’s Dharali village.  

In a collection of posts on X in Hindi, she mentioned it’s crucial that “we instantly pause and preserve a stability between nature, atmosphere, tourism, and religion within the improvement course of in Himalayan states”.

The Dharali village is near Gangotri and is a serious stopover for pilgrims on the way in which to the Gangotri Dham.

Bharti referred to a 2023 Indian Area Analysis Organisation (ISRO) report that Joshimath (additionally in Uttarakhand) skilled a land subsidence of round 5 centimeters in simply 12 days, between 27 December 2022 and eight January 2023. 

The previous Madhya Pradesh chief minister alleged the ISRO report that got here after this was “instantly withdrawn by ISRO itself”. 

“We ignored that warning,” she mentioned. 

ThePrint had reported in 2023 that as per an ISRO report launched in January that yr, Joshimath skilled the land subsidence. The ISRO report was taken down from their web site after the federal government issued a gag order on sharing “complicated” data with the general public at a time of disaster.

1) हिमाचल एवं उत्तराखंड में हुई भीषण त्रासदी हमे बहुत बड़ी चेतावनी दे रही है। हिमालयीन राज्यों की विकास प्रक्रिया पर हमे तुरंत थमकर प्रकृति, पर्यावरण, पर्यटन एवं आस्था का संतुलन बनाए रखना बहुत जरूरी है। @BJP4UK @ukcmo

— Uma Bharti (@umasribharti) August 6, 2025

Bharti mentioned the “horrible” tragedy that occurred in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand is “giving us a giant warning”. Whereas she didn’t specify the Himachal Pradesh tragedy she was referring to, the state witnessed devastating flash floods final yr and likewise this yr that killed scores of individuals.

On the Dharali flash floods, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami mentioned Tuesday evening that 70 folks had been rescued. The authorities are working to rescue others feared trapped within the particles.

Uma Bharti added, “We, the folks of BJP, should not commit the sin of destroying the Himalayas, the Ganga, and different ever-flowing rivers throughout our time, and should guarantee any such future chance can also be prevented.” 

“The foundation reason for the tragedy in Dharali and Harsil was not simply the cloudburst,” she mentioned. “Pure lakes on the hills above Dharali have been stuffed past their limits on account of heavy rains and the water from a few of them cascaded down the hills, carrying with it heavy particles, inflicting nice devastation and a lack of lives.”  

She mentioned these have been pure lakes however “now some energy tasks, some being constructed with permission and a few in stealth, are resulting in the creation of a whole lot of such lakes within the mountainsdue to which individuals are going through lack of lives be it in Joshimath, Dharali or Harsil. And the invaluable heritage of the nation is getting destroyed”.

Bharti served because the minister for water assets, river improvement and Ganga rejuvenation from 16 Could 2014 to three September 2017. She then turned the minister for ingesting water and sanitation, and held the place until 24 Could 2019. 

“The Ganga Motion Plan of the Ministry of Water Sources was ready between October 2014 and September 2016 and it was additionally launched. It may be utilized to the Himalayas and all of the Himalayan rivers. However after that it got here to a halt, which additionally consists of the affidavit given by the Ganga Ministry (Water Sources, River Improvement and Ganga Rejuvenation) within the Supreme Court docket,” she added. 

She urged the federal government to begin it once more. “The Ganga and its tributaries ought to be saved, the Himalayas ought to be saved, religion ought to be maintained, improvement ought to be carried out and employment must also enhance within the mountains. However there ought to be no destruction within the title of improvement. That is the motion plan which has grow to be resultless after being applied in instalments,” she defined.

(Edited by Ajeet Tiwari)

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