Disaster struck Raini village was the origin of Chipko movement

Disaster struck Raini village of Chamboli was the origin of Chipko movement and the protagonist of the movement, legendary Gaura Devi hails from here.

Dehradun: Raini, the village in Chamoli where glacial lake outburst triggered sudden flash floods, had hit headlines in the past owing to Chipko movement initiated by the villagers in the Uttarakhand hills in the 1970s.

Ironically, the cradle of Chipko movement witnessed one of its worst deluges on Sunday which claimed many lives, leaving many people feared missing. The deluge came gurgling loudly and sent a chill down the spine of people living in the area who find it hard to forget the 2013 tragedy.

The scenes brought back to the people horrifying memories of the 2013 Kedarnath deluge that killed thousands.

Located 26kms away from Joshimath village, Chipko or the famous tree-hugging movement started in Raini village about 48 years ago and garnered support from masses. The movement derived its name from the way people embraced trees symbolising protection of forest from being cut.

The protagonist of the Chipko movement, legendary Gaura Devi hails from Raini village and she challenged the men to shoot her instead of cutting trees.

The ecologically-conscious villagers had raised an alarm that the construction of the Rishi Ganga hydel project could cause huge damage to them but no heed was paid. Their worst fears became true and within seconds, they saw their loved ones washed away.

A PIL was also filed in Uttarakhand High Court on the behalf of tribals in the village, stating that the stone crushing activities is a threat to the environment and has chased many animals away but the government did not do much.

The court had directed the government to check what was going on in Raini village of Chamoli concerning the construction of the hydel project but nothing much was done.

Interestingly, ten years back Gaura Devi had said, "This jungle is like our mother and it provides us with our basic means. If you destroy it, natural calamity is bound to occur."

And it seems nature had replied to the apathy of the government, causing great devastation due to the avalanche.