Dharali's Collapse

In a quiet afternoon in early August, the people of Dharali, a small Himalayan village on the road to Gangotri temple, heard a deafening roar. "I heard a sound like boulders grinding," recalls Sunita Devi of nearby Mukhba village. Within moments, a wall of muddy water and rock was upon Dharali. Witnesses saw the Kheer Ganga stream turn into a monster, a raging torrent tearing through the valley. In a video that later went viral, terrified villagers can be heard screaming "Everything is over!" as the floodwaters swallowed homes and hotels in seconds. What had been a picturesque pilgrim hamlet in Uttarkashi district was suddenly a scene of carnage and despair.

- Compiled by Ruchira Talapatra

Indo-Tibetan Border Police personnel searched through deep mud and rubble in Dharali village after the flash flood. The once-bustling Himalayan stopover was left half-buried in debris.

A VILLAGE OBLITERATED

At 1:30 pm on August 5, 2025, the Himalayan village of Dharali in Uttarkashi was all but erased from the map. Without warning, a wall of water, rocks, and sludge roared down from the mountains, engulfing the bustling pilgrim hamlet. Locals had been attending a temple festival when the deluge struck. "People ran for their lives, but the flood came so fast that there was nothing anyone could do," said Lokendra Bisht, a homestay owner and MLA. Multi-story hotels and homes were flattened or swept into the Bhagirathi River. Satellite images later revealed a massive sediment deposit, nearly 20 hectares wide, burying much of the village under layers of debris. "The whole of Dharali was wiped out," Bisht said. At least five were confirmed dead, and around 100 were feared missing—many of them migrant workers or pilgrims. The floodwaters also struck an Army camp 4 km away in Harsil, where 11 soldiers vanished as barracks were washed away.

Dharali, at 2,700 meters, was a key stop for Gangotri pilgrims. Its riverside growth—marked by 20–25 hotels and shops—had made it a tourism hub. But experts warn it sat "on a ticking time bomb," built in an ecologically fragile zone vulnerable to both flash floods and glacial activity.

RESCUE ON WAR FOOTING

Rescue efforts began within hours. Despite heavy rain and unstable terrain, over 800 personnel—including the Army, ITBP, NDRF, SDRF, and local forces—launched a high-risk operation. "Rescue teams had been deployed on a war footing," said Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, who rushed to oversee relief on-site.