The Exodus : Uttarakhand's burgeoning Ghost Villages –

Over 40% of the population in India's hill state, Uttarakhand is migrant and there are at least 1700 ghost villages. Most of the mountain communities here depend on springs for domestic water use, especially in the mid hills that are away from direct glacial sources. Climate change and unsustainable water management have been wreaking havoc on these traditional water sources, leading to water scarcity in the already harsh mountain region. On top of that, agrarian crisis, extreme weather events and lack of decent livelihood is driving an unprecedented exodus from the mountains, leaving once-thriving villages as shadows of the past.

In this film, we visit two villages, one with spring water and another without, to see a stark difference in how they function. Mohan Singh from Kabdoli narrates the tragic story of his village that is being abandoned due to lack of employment, agriculture and water. While Bhopal Singh from Malsakhet narrates the story of how his village is holding on despite migration, because they still have water and are managing their community forest well. Mayank Shah, a social researcher and Ph.D from Nainital, Uttarakhand who works on climate change, livelihood and migration issues ties the two stories together to explain how the failing rural mountain economy must be revived to stop migration and withstand growing climate impacts in future.

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This film was made in collaboration with ICIMOD and was first screened during the UNFCCC COP27 in Sharm-el-Sheikh, Egypt as a part of ICIMOD's communications and outreach campaign #MovingMountains.

Direction: Neelima Vallangi
Cinematography and editing: Vibhu Grover

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