The Himalayan Betrayal: A Tale of Tourism Overload and Ecological Collapse

The Himalayan Betrayal: A Tale of Tourism Overload and Ecological Collapse - Pic by Naman Pandey

The mountains call, and we answer. The snow-draped peaks of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, with their whispering pines and sacred rivers, have long been our escape from the chaos of city life. Shimla’s misty mornings, Manali’s adventure trails, Kedarnath’s spiritual pull, these are the postcards of paradise we chase. But beneath the Instagram filters and tourist brochures lies a heart-wrenching truth: we’re loving these hills to death. This isn’t just a story of environmental strain; it’s a betrayal of the very soul of the Himalayas, a tragedy scripted by our own greed and ignorance. This tale of tourism overload is as thrilling as it is terrifying, and it’s time we face the brutal reality.

The Seduction of the Himalayas

Winding road cuts through a lush valley, the Beas River glinting under the sun. Tourists in colorful jackets snap selfies, their laughter echoing against the cliffs. Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, the crown jewels of India’s Himalayan tourism, draw millions annually, 7% of Himachal’s GDP comes from tourism alone. But the seduction is a trap. The hills, once resilient, are crumbling under the weight of unchecked footfalls. In 2019, tourist arrivals in Himachal were 1.6 times the state’s population. Imagine your hometown swarmed by strangers outnumbering you, clogging your streets, draining your water, and leaving trash in their wake. That’s the reality for locals here.

The locals, paharis with weathered hands and warm smiles, welcomed us with open hearts. They built homestays, drove taxis, and served steaming momos to fuel our adventures. But their hospitality masks a quiet despair. In Shimla, water shortages are so severe that residents and tourists ration every drop, while hotels mushroom along fragile riverbanks. In Uttarakhand, the 2013 Kedarnath floods, a nightmare that killed over 5,800 people, were a grim preview of what happens when we push nature too far. Yet, a decade later, we’re back to the same script: reckless road expansions, illegal constructions, and a tourism boom that’s more curse than blessing.

While locals contribute to the problem through unregulated construction and resource exploitation, pinning the blame solely on them oversimplifies a complex web of systemic failures, economic pressures, and external influences.

Are Locals Greedy and to Blame?

The accusation of greed often stems from visible signs: haphazard buildings on fragile slopes, homestays sprouting like mushrooms, and locals leasing land for tourism ventures. Social media posts lament locals building “wherever they can, without thinking,” blaming them for destabilizing hills and inviting disasters like landslides. But this view ignores the broader context. Many locals in Himachal and Uttarakhand are caught in a survival trap, not a greed-fueled frenzy. Tourism, which accounts for 7% of Himachal’s GDP and employs thousands in both states, is often their only viable income source. With agriculture declining, apple yields in Himachal dropped 20–30% over the past decade due to climate shifts, locals turn to tourism to feed their families.

For example, in Kullu or Nainital, a family might convert their ancestral home into a homestay or lease land to a hotelier for quick cash. However, the cumulative impact is devastating. In Shimla, the population has ballooned to 240,000 from a planned 25,000, with locals and outsiders alike building on slopes as steep as 70 degrees, far beyond the safe 45-degree limit. This isn’t just locals; it’s a system where lax regulations and corrupt officials enable unchecked construction for profit.

Locals have contributed to the crisis in tangible ways:

Unregulated Construction: Many build homes or homestays without adhering to building codes, on unstable slopes or riverbeds. In Joshimath, Uttarakhand, locals used cheap materials instead of traditional wood and stone, which are more resilient to seismic activity.

Deforestation: To clear land for construction or agriculture, locals sometimes cut trees, weakening soil stability. In Himachal, 80,000 trees were felled for highways, with locals often involved as laborers or land sellers.

Waste Mismanagement: Small businesses, like dhabas or guesthouses, contribute to plastic waste clogging rivers and drains, exacerbating flood risks. Tourist trash mixes with local waste, choking streams.

Hydropower projects, some state-backed, displace communities and destabilize slopes, as seen in Kinnaur, where 90% of forest land was diverted for such projects between 1980 and 2014. When a landslide wipes out a village, it’s the locals who lose homes, not the distant developers.

Statistics on New Construction

The scale of construction in Himachal and Uttarakhand is staggering:

Himachal Pradesh: The state’s built-up area reached 866.14 sq km by 2015, with 97.42% of its geographical area prone to landslides. In 2023 alone, 48 major landslides were linked to new roads and buildings. Shimla’s draft development plan notes that construction exceeds safe slope angles, with buildings on 45–70-degree inclines.

Uttarakhand: Rapid urbanization has led to 18.47% of the state being classified as high to very high landslide susceptibility zones. In Joshimath, over 800 buildings developed cracks in 2023 due to subsidence linked to unplanned construction.

Roads and Hydropower: 67% of landslides in Himachal occur along roads, with 4,333 of 6,512 mapped landslides tied to road construction. In Uttarakhand, 118 hydropower projects, including mega ones like Nathpa Jhakri (1,500 MW), sit in high-risk zones.

These numbers reveal a construction boom driven by tourism and infrastructure. In Manali, hotel construction surged 40% between 2010 and 2020, on riverbanks, despite warnings from geologists.

Structural Engineering Failures

The Himalayas demand robust engineering, but shortcuts are rampant:

Shallow Foundations: Many buildings, especially in Joshimath and Shimla, lack deep foundations suited for seismic Zone V (high-risk) areas. Traditional materials like wood and stone, used by some locals in Joshimath, were more resilient, but modern concrete structures fail under minor ground settlement.

Unstabilized Slopes: Road construction leaves slopes bare, without retaining walls or drainage systems. In Himachal, 1,300 road closures in July 2023 were linked to landslides from poorly engineered cuts.

Building Codes Ignored: The National Building Code (NBC) limits hill constructions to three storeys in Mussoorie and 7.5–11 meters in height in Nainital, but enforcement is weak. In Devprayag, buildings are erected on slopes without approved maps, violating local bye-laws.

Weedicide Use: In Mandi, weedicides used to clear land for construction weaken soil cohesion, making landslides 30% more likely during monsoons.

Replicating lowland building models in hills is a recipe for disaster. The Himalayas’ requires site-specific designs, but developers and locals cut corners to save costs.

Resource Overload

Tourism overload strains resources beyond capacity:

Water Scarcity: In Shimla, water demand outstrips supply by 30%, with hotels and homestays consuming what locals need. In 2018, Shimla’s water crisis left residents rationing while tourists filled pools.

Waste: Himachal generates 1,500 tons of solid waste daily, much from tourist hotspots like Manali and Dharamshala, clogging rivers and drains.

Land Pressure: In Uttarakhand, 21% of the state is moderately susceptible to landslides due to urban sprawl and tourism infrastructure. Hydropower projects divert rivers, leaving farmers without irrigation and increasing flood risks downstream.

This overload is a systemic failure where governments prioritize revenue over sustainability. The carrying capacity of these regions is breached, with towns like Shimla hosting ten times their intended population.

Greed and the Lure of Money

The promise of quick money blinds many, locals, developers, and officials alike. A homestay owner in Manali might earn ₹50,000 a month during peak season, a fortune compared to farming’s ₹10,000. But this comes at a cost. Locals lease land to hoteliers, who build multi-storey resorts on floodplains, ignoring warnings. In Mandi, a 2023 cloudburst washed away such structures, costing lives and ₹1,852 crore in damages.

Corruption fuels this cycle. Politicians and hotel lobbies push for more projects, bypassing environmental impact assessments. This is “nexus” destroying the states, and it’s not wrong. Locals, unaware of geological risks, follow the money, building without permits or cutting trees for profit. But when a mudslide hits, it’s their homes, not the developers’, that vanish.

The Bigger Picture

Blaming locals alone is unfair. They’re pawns in a game where big players, governments, corporations, and tourists, set the rules. The real greed lies in systemic failures: weak enforcement, ignored science, and a tourism model that prioritizes numbers over nature. If this continues, Himachal and Uttarakhand face a future where landslides are annual, glaciers vanish (already retreating at twice the global rate), and entire towns like Joshimath sink.

What Happens Next?

Without change, the Himalayas could lose 50% of their glaciers, drying up rivers like the Beas and Ganga. Landslides will escalate, with 18.47% of Uttarakhand already at high risk. But solutions exist: enforce building codes, stabilize slopes, promote ecotourism, and educate locals on sustainable practices. Countries like Nepal and Peru, with similar mountain ecosystems, face the same risks if they overbuild. The choice is ours, restrain greed or watch these paradises slide into oblivion.

Thank You, Vikram Singh

This article was sponsored by Vikram Singh, a taxi driver from Manali who saw his village’s river choke with tourist waste, last year and this year his family home destroyed under a landslide cause by flash floods.. He funded this to urge his community and visitors to “build with care, not greed, so our children inherit mountains, not mudslides.” His story inspires us to fund truths that protect our planet. TheBrink will be returning his funds with some more, but his courage and generosity encourages us to think about the future of this beautiful place in India.

-Chetan Desai for TheBrink2028