When floating timber was trade, folklore, lifeblood
Rivers did the bulk of the hauling, until mafias, dwindling forest cover, and stricter rules squeezed out old hands and handed the reins to uncertainty and accusation
Updated At : 07:18 AM Sep 14, 2025 IST
Officials say most logs are uprooted by cloudbursts, flood debris, not criminal enterprise, but environment-alists disagree because of the sheer volume. Photo: Mani Verma
If hashtags could archive Himalayan history, #GoneWithTheFlow, #LogOn, and #Floatzilla would have trended centuries before drones brought bird’s-eye-view drama to your screen. Today, just one viral video of logs jamming the Ravi or Beas will send phones buzzing, resurrecting memories of when these rivers once carried fortunes and futures, not just disasters.
