Actor Dia Mirza has expressed distress over the devastation caused by the rain in Himachal Pradesh, by sharing a video of her recent family trip to the region. She was there with her husband Vaibhav Rekhi and son Avyaan. Initially, she hesitated to post the happy moments, fearing it might come across as insensitive.
Dia posts video from Himachal trip
On Thursday, Dia shared a video on Instagram, featuring cherished moments from her recent trip to Himachal Pradesh just before heavy rains caused the river in the state to swell, leading to distress in the region.
She shared the video which began with her son Avyaan Azaad Rekhi walking around the picturesque locations along with his mother Dia and father Vaibhav Rekhi. Getting mesmerised by the beauty around him, Avyaan exclaims, “It is so beautiful mama”.
The video then transitions to showcase shots of birds, lush nature, flowing streams, vibrant blooming flowers, and a gentle water brook. The video ends with a moment of Dia and her son Avyaan embracing a tree, and conveying a sense of gratitude to nature.
Sharing the video, Dia wrote, “Our time in Himachal was nothing short of magical, surrounded by majestic mountains. Yet, our departure marked the beginning of the river’s rise, leading to weeks of distress…”
“I hesitated to share happy moments, feeling it was insensitive. However, I now see that recalling the beauty might also remind us to act better. We’re capable of more (folded hand emoji),” she added.
The actor also called out “poor urban planning and unregulated tourism” in the state. Dia wrote, “When will we go back to respecting our ancient wisdom to live in harmony with nature? The growing incidence of flash floods results from #ClimateChange, biodiversity loss, poor urban planning, and unregulated tourism.”
Dia went on to share ways one can adopt while exploring fragile ecosystems, which included opting for eco-friendly accommodations, avoiding single-use plastics, carrying one’s trash, supporting local communities, choosing eco-friendly products crafted by women and showing respect to the land and its inhabitants.
“Let’s work together to secure, protect and cherish our fragile Himalayan homeland,” Dia wrote, wrapping up the note with hashtags, #HealingHimalayas, #ForNature, #ForPeopleForPlanet, #SDGs and #GlobalGoals.
Monsoon fury in Himachal
This year, torrential monsoon rains have battered Himachal Pradesh, crippling road connectivity, power supply, and drinking water schemes across the state.
According to the Himachal Pradesh State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA), as of Wednesday evening, 582 roads, including two national highways, remained blocked, 1,155 electricity distribution transformers (DTRs) were disrupted, and 346 water supply schemes were out of service.
The cumulative toll from the ongoing monsoon havoc since June 20 has climbed to 310 deaths, the SDMA said. Of these, 158 were rain-related fatalities — including landslides, flash floods, and house collapses — while 152 people died in road accidents triggered or worsened by the weather.
In fact, heavy rains, landslides, flash floods and cloudbursts on Tuesday led to havoc in parts of Himachal and the overflowing Beas River left a trail of destruction in Manali. Thousands of pilgrims are also stranded in Chamba due to heavy rains.
