While the exact cause of the flash floods in Uttarakhand’s Dharali remains unclear, experts and glaciologists have proposed various hypotheses to explain the massive mudslide that ravaged the area.
The affected area in Dharali is located on an alluvial fan, a geological feature formed by debris from past flood events. Specifically, earlier floods at the confluence of the Kheer Ganga stream and the Bhagirathi River led to sediment deposition at the river mouth, shaping this fan.
Although the village is situated around 200 metres away from the river, increasing commercialisation in recent years has led to the development of several establishments directly on the alluvial fan, experts say, pointing to the growth of tourism-related activities and the construction of the Dharasu-Gangotri highway through the village.
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