New Delhi: The state of Uttarakhand has been put on high alert after a dam was damaged because of a glacier breaking off from Nanda Devi peak.
Seven bodies have been recovered, and at least 125 are missing, Uttarakhand CM Trivendra Singh Rawat said.
A glacier broke off in Joshimath in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli district on Sunday, causing a massive flood in the Dhauli Ganga river and endangering the lives of people living along its banks.
“It came very fast, there was no time to alert anyone,” Sanjay Singh Rana, who lives on the upper reaches of the river in Raini village, told Reuters by phone. “I felt that even we would be swept away.”
The 13.2 MW hydro project on the Rishiganga river was swept away, but there is no danger of floods in the downstream areas as the water level has been contained.
An estimated 50-100 personnel working at the power project in Tapovan-Reni area of Uttarakhand are missing following which search and rescue operations have been launched, Uttarakhand DGP Ashok Kumar said on Sunday.
Kumar told PTI that some injured have been rescued after state disaster response forces reached the affected areas.
PTI has reported that the Indo-Tibetan Border Police said more than 150 labourers of the Tapovan power project are feared dead, according to the site in-charge.
“The situation is under control now. There is a dam at Srinagar and it has contained the flow. The power project has taken the damage.”
“Our preliminary estimate is that 50-100 people who were working in and around the power project are missing,” the state police chief said.
The teams had reached the spot very quickly from Joshimath (about 20 minutes distance) and they rescued some injured while two bodies were also found, he said. “We will be able to give you a clear picture by the evening,” Kumar said.
Though details are awaited, several districts, including Pauri, Tehri, Rudraprayag, Haridwar and Dehradun, are likely to be affected and have been put on high alert.
Massive flood near Joshimath in Uttarakhand amid reports of a cloudburst or reservoir breach around 10 am. Many casualties feared, says ITBP.
Over hundred ITBP men rushed for rescue operation
Video courtesy- ITBP pic.twitter.com/pQaTWoYklt— vijaita singh (@vijaita) February 7, 2021
“People are being evacuated from the areas near Alaknanda river. As a precautionary measure, flow of Bhagirathi River has been stopped. To prevent the flow of water of Alaknanda, Srinagar Dam and Rishikesh Dam have been emptied. The SDRF is on alert. I am leaving for the spot,” Uttarakhand chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
The state government has released the following phone numbers for emergency relief: 1070 or 9557444486. Rawat has also appealed to people to not spread rumours through old flood videos.
Rawat said the water level in the Alaknanda, another tributary of the Ganga, is one metre above normal but the flow was reducing gradually.
Rishiganga Power Project has been damaged due breach of a glacier in Tapovan area. People living on the bank of Alaknanda river are advised to move to safe places at the earliest: Chamoli Police, Uttarakhand
— ANI (@ANI) February 7, 2021
What caused it?
It was not immediately clear what had set off the avalanche at a time when it is not the flood season. In June 2013, record monsoon rains in Uttarakhand caused devastating floods that claimed close to 6,000 lives.
That disaster was dubbed the “Himalayan tsunami” because of the torrents of water unleashed in the mountainous area, which sent mud and rocks crashing down, burying homes, sweeping away buildings, roads and bridges.
Environmental experts called for a halt to big hydroelectric projects in the state.
“This disaster again calls for a serious scrutiny of the hydropower dams building spree in this eco-sensitive region,” said Ranjan Panda, a volunteer for the Combat Climate Change Network that works on water, environment and climate change issues.
(With PTI and Reuters inputs)
This is a developing story. More details will be added when received.