Urbanization in the Himalayan Region: Transformation and Effects in Uttarakhand, India
Abstract
Urbanisation in the mountainous regions is occurring at a rapid pace, and the Himalayan region is not an exception to this. Urbanization in the region has implications on the natural resources, landscapes, land use, people’s lives and livelihoods, their beliefs, practices, the social and gender relations, and their relations and interaction with the natural resources. In the Uttarakhand state of India, unplanned and unregulated urbanisation has spread rapidly mainly due to three key factors: administrative, economic in the form of tourism and rural-urban migration. Such urbanization has come with a host of effects and transformations that are both advantageous and disadvantageous for the area and its peoples. The rise in tourism and particularly the development of religious tourism has had positive impacts on the socio-economic situation of the people with the opening up of employment in the hospitality sector. But more profound are the negative effects and impacts on the natural resources due to urbanisation. Decline and degradation of natural resources and disruption of key ecological processes is a serious concern, which has led to decrease in availability of water that is being felt by the people both in urban and peri-urban areas. Furthermore, with the changing climatic conditions, unregulated deforestation and construction in the fragile slopes in seeing increased instances of and severity of natural hazards like floods and landslides. The physical landscape and people’s lives and livelihoods are undergoing transformations as a result of urbanisation in the area. Against this context, this study examines the implications and effects of urbanisation on the socio-cultural norms and practices among the mountain communities of Uttarakhand, India. Specifically, this paper explores the changes that have occurred in the socio-cultural norms and practices of the mountain communities due to urbanisation and its possible implications for the communities and the region.
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