Mandakini River: Sacred Water of Rudraprayag

The Mandakini river originates from the Chorabari glacier near Kedarnath and flows through Rudraprayag district, joining the Alaknanda at the sangam (confluence) that gives the district its name. The 2013 Kedarnath flood, triggered by a glacial lake outburst combined with extreme rainfall, sent a wall of water and debris down the Mandakini valley, killing thousands and devastating riverside villages. The disaster demonstrated both the ecological fragility of the high Himalayan river system and the importance of traditional settlement patterns that avoided flood zones. Traditional agricultural communities along the Mandakini practise terraced cultivation of wheat and rice using kuhl irrigation. Forest communities collect pinecones (chir pine resin for torches), rhododendron flowers, and medicinal herbs from the river valley slopes. Ecological restoration work in Rudraprayag focuses on landslide stabilisation using bioengineering methods developed by traditional mountain communities.