Darkness , Debris, and Devastation
A doctor couple, both serving at the district hospital in Ramban, were asleep with their two children, in their rented accommodation—just a short walk from the hospital—when the sky roared, thunder cracked, followed by a hailstorm and torrential rain. The couple woke up and knew this wasn't normal. Rain soaked the hillside behind them and low rumble stirred the earth. Mud crept in slowly through their kitchen window.What started as a slow seep turned into a surge of mudflow in a fraction of a minute. The window shattered. A flood of mud crashed into their home, sweeping away their belongings. They escaped from there anyhow, but town was buried under this mudflow and debris in just an hour or two. The devastation was not only tragic—it was revealing, unearthed a darker truth.
Chenab Valley sits with a gun to its head. On one side: dams that dictate the river’s course and the valley’s fate. On the other geologically fragile, young mountains being cut, drilled, and dynamited to carve highways and tunnels; all in the name of utilitarianism.
Utilitarianism, in theory, seeks the greatest good for the greatest number. But here whose good is being served when local lives and livelihoods are buried under debris and boulders? If progress comes at the price of instability, we are not advancing — we are circling disaster. This is not sustainable development. It is disaster, only to be deferred.
What sharpens the wound is the hypocrisy. After every landslide, every deadly rockfall, a predictable cycle begins: media buzzes, experts warn, committees are formed, and environmental “concern” resurfaces. Yet on the ground, nothing changes. Blasting resumes, hills continue to be hollowed out. The next disaster only to be scheduled in.
After the 2023 Pernote subsidence in Ramban, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) directed the J&K government to investigate. A committee of top national experts was formed. The findings were clear: it wasn’t just nature—it was us. Poor drainage, reckless construction, and neglected wastewater systems were named culprits. But once the headlines faded, so did the urgency. As if nature hadn’t spoken clearly enough.
Chenab Valley is the candle that burns itself to light the nation.
Home to hydropower giants like Baglihar, Pakal Dul, and Dul Hasti, the region generates electricity for millions. Yet its people remain in the dark. According to NITI Aayog’s debut MPI report, Ramban tops the poverty charts at 35.26%, followed by Doda at 28.92%. The irony is stark: the valley lighting the nation is looming under darkness of poverty and unemployment,living the proverb—"chirag tale andhera "
So here we are again.
The mud has settled. The machines are back. New tunnels are planned. And the people? Still waiting. For accountability. For infrastructure. For light—beyond just electricity.
Aqib Javed Katoch, Resident of Ramban
