Conservationist and social entrepreneur Megh Ale, widely known as Nepal's 'River Man', has called on Nepal to urgently overhaul its development model and rethink its aggressive expansion of hydropower projects, warning that the catastrophic Bhote Koshi River floods are a symptom of a far deeper crisis threatening the Himalayas. Ale made the remarks on 27 August following flash floods that have claimed at least 177 lives, according to Nepal Police.

The Disaster: Scale and Origin

The floods originated in the Tibetan region of China before tearing through the transboundary Bhote Koshi River system, leaving a trail of destruction across multiple Nepali districts. Bodies were recovered from riverbanks in Rasuwa, Nuwakot, Dhading, Chitwan, Gorkha, Tanahun, Nawalparasi East, and Nawalparasi West, with Chitwan recording the highest number of recovered bodies. More than 800 people remained out of contact as of Thursday.

Scientific investigations are ongoing to determine the precise triggers of the event. 'In terms of why that rock fell, scientists are yet to figure it out. Obviously, this is ice-rock from the mountain, and researchers are determining whether a glacial lake was involved. It is both a manmade and natural disaster. When the two combined, the impact became huge, triggering a disaster of this scale,' Ale said.

How Infrastructure Made It Worse

Ale stressed that a series of under-construction dams along the river corridor significantly worsened the catastrophe. As the floodwaters struck, the destruction of these structures generated additional debris that intensified the downstream impact. 'As the flood hit, the destruction of all those infrastructures caused an even bigger problem as debris began floating downstream,' he said.

This dynamic — where development infrastructure becomes a force multiplier in a natural disaster — is a recurring concern in rapid-build hydropower corridors across the Himalayas. Ale argued that it underscores the urgent need to rethink how and where such projects are sited.

Ale's Warning to Nepal and India

Ale directed a pointed message at Nepal's political leadership: 'Change the development model. Don't think of hydrodollars. Also, India must not encourage our business people and government to build all those dams.' He argued that India, as a downstream nation heavily dependent on Nepal's rivers for the Ganges basin — which he said receives a substantial share of its water from Nepal — bears a shared responsibility for river conservation and management.

'If all these disasters happen one after another, what will happen to the Ganges?' he asked, calling for bilateral cooperation on transboundary river protection.

A Pattern Across the Himalayas

Ale linked the Bhote Koshi disaster to a broader pattern of extreme events across the Hindu Kush Himalayan region over the past decade, citing floods in Uttarakhand, along the Teesta River, and Nepal's own Seti River as earlier warnings. 'This is a huge warning. This is just the beginning,' he cautioned.

He noted that Nepal has approximately 6,000 rivers and rivulets and argued that the country must respect the natural behaviour of its waterways when planning infrastructure. 'The rivers of the Hindu Kush Himalayas are the lifeline of over 1.5 billion people. All nations in this region really need to wake up and act before it is too late, and in many ways, we already feel it is too late,' Ale said.

What Needs to Change

Ale called for disaster preparedness to be paired with a fundamental rethink of development planning — not just reactive measures but a structural shift in how Himalayan nations account for climate risk. 'We need to live with it,' he said, referring to the realities of accelerating global warming. He urged Nepal to adapt its policies to current environmental realities rather than pressing ahead with projects that do not adequately factor in escalating climate hazards.

With climate projections indicating continued glacial retreat and more frequent extreme precipitation events across the Hindu Kush Himalayas, the pressure on governments in the region to act on Ale's warnings is only likely to intensify.