This paper examines the environmental and economic impact of cloudburst-triggered debris flow and flash flood in four villages of Uttarkashi district, Uttarakhand Himalaya. On 18th July 2021 at 8:30 p.m., a cloudburst took place on the top of the Hari Maharaj Parvat, which triggered a huge debris flows and flash floods, affecting 143 households of four villages of downstream areas. Immediately after the cloudburst occurred, the authors visited four affected villages—Nirakot, Mando, Kankrari, and Siror. A structured questionnaire was constructed and questions were framed and asked from 143 heads of affected households on the impact of debris flows and flash floods on people’s life, settlements, cowsheds, bridges, trees, forests, and arable land in and around the villages. The volume of debris, boulders, pebbles, gravels, and mud was assessed. It was noticed that all four villages got lots of destructions in terms of loss of life—people and animals, and property damage—land, crops, and infrastructural facilities. This study shows that the location of the settlements along with the proximity of the streams, which are very violent during the monsoon season, has led to the high impact of debris flow on the affected villages. We suggest that the old inhabited areas, which are located in the risk zones, can be relocated and the new settlements can be constructed in safe places using suitability analyses.

The Himalaya has numerous natural, cultural, aesthetic, and adventurer tourists/pilgrims’ destinations, which are the major source of income and employment to the local people and revenue generation to the government. Meanwhile, tourism carrying capacity of these destinations is poor and thus tourism development could not take shape. This article examines carrying capacity and destination development of the Gangotri tourists/pilgrims’ circuit, which is also known as Gangotri eco-sensitive zone. We conducted this study using both qualitative and quantitative approaches, in which we collected data on tourists/pilgrims flow, accommodation, transportation, and infrastructural facilities. Primary data were collected through interview of 160 persons of 8 tourists/pilgrims centres who are involved in tourism activities. Further, we employed a participatory observation method after an extensive visit of Gangotri tourisms/pilgrims circuit in January 2017. Secondary data were collected from the Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board, Dehradun. We used correlation and rank method and analysed infrastructural facilities, carrying capacity dimensions, proposed destination development model for the circuit, and observed that a sustainable tourism development may enhance economic activities such as income generation and employment augmentation as the whole circuit obtains natural, cultural, and aesthetic importance.

Access to safe drinking water and sanitation are essential fundamental rights for every citizen of a country. It is an important indicator of quality of life. Inadequate access to WASH services harms children under five and adolescent girls. This study examines the status of WASH services in West Bengal. A comprehensive assessment of WASH services was conducted using data from the fifth round of the National Family Health Survey. Data were statistically analyzed using Stata V. 14.1 software. A multivariate ordinal logistic regression model was applied to examine the association between experimental and explanatory variables. Furthermore, adjusted odds ratios, significance levels, and confidence intervals were provided for each dummy variable. The study found that only 33.69% of households in West Bengal have access to improved sources of drinking water. Moreover, only 74.35% of households have access to hygienic sanitation facilities within their premises, while 14.60% still practice open defecation. However, urban, Pucca, and non-nuclear households have better access to clean water, sanitation, and hygiene. The study also reported that drainage facilities are lacking in the state. Finally, the study recommends some policy measures to improve the access of WASH services in the state.

Subsistence agriculture—the cultivation of subsistence cereals including millets, oilseeds, and pulses is the major occupation and source of livelihood of people of the Garhwal region. Over time, the production and yield of subsistence agriculture have reduced drastically. This study examines the practices of subsistence agriculture, the major drivers of declining agriculture, and its implications on the livelihood of marginal farmers. Data were gathered from eight villages of four districts, using a household-level survey. A total of 376 households inhabit these villages. We have surveyed 207 households (55%), who were fully engaged in practicing subsistence agriculture, purposively. A structured questionnaire was constructed and the questions were asked from the heads of households on the area, production, and productivity of the principal crops during 2000–2020. Data were analyzed using statistical methods. This study depicted that traditional agriculture has been declining, as a 50% decrease in the area, production, and productivity of crops was noticed during the last 20 years. The decrease was noted mainly due to climate change, extreme geo-hydrological disasters, crops damaged by wildlife, increasing population, decreasing landholdings, low soil fertility, low output from arable land, mono-cropping, and a lack of use of modern technology. The exodus out-migration, land abandonment, and livelihood insecurity were noticed as the implications of declining subsistence agriculture.