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Journalism of Courage
As most of India is under lockdown once again amid the second wave of Covid-19, there has been a visible reduction in pollution like last year. Residents of a Uttar Pradesh town were blessed with the view of the mighty Himalayas from their home, in a repeat of what happened last year after people stayed home to combat Covid-19. The photos of snow-capped Himalayas, as seen from UP’s Saharanpur have taken social media by storm.
Even though Cyclone Tauktae weakened to ‘very severe’ storm, heavy rains continued not just in Gujarat and Maharashtra but also in several places in north India, including Delhi-NCR region and Uttar Pradesh. As the cyclone moved north-northeastwards from the Gujarat coast, heavy showers improved the air quality index (AQI) in several towns, revealing to the residents the amazing view.
“Himalayas are visible again from Saharanpur. After rains, the sky is clear and AQI is around 85,” Indian Forest Service officer Ramesh Pandey wrote online sharing few images on Twitter.
Sanjay Kumar, the Commissioner of Saharanpur, also shared a fabulous view of snowclad Upper Himalayas, explaining, “Two days of heavy rains across North India after Cyclone Tauktae landfall ensured all pollution in air, mist and haze is gone.”
Dushyant Kumar, a nature photographer and an Income Tax inspector from Saharanpur, also shared some impressive shots taken from his home on Friday, blowing away people online. Kumar also went viral last year, when his images of the Garhwal range as seen from the UP town broke the internet.
“Around sunset time, the Gangotri, Yamunotri and Banderpunch range of Himalayas were illuminated and were visible clearly,” Kumar told news agency ANI adding that it was a “delight to see the Himalayas from Saharanpur”.
People on social media were excited to see the photos second year in row, with many highlighting that efforts should be made to conserve nature and improve air quality.
https://twitter.com/nimesh_c_thakur/status/1395637872900771843
https://twitter.com/2020Vpsingh/status/1395604874524463112
https://twitter.com/kumaoni_woman/status/1395624396509696011
Earlier in April, 2020, the Dhauladhar range in the Himachal was visible from Punjab’s Jalandhar, and images took social media by storm. In May last year, images of Mt Everest seen from a small Bihar village too went viral, with people claiming ‘nature is healing’.
