It’s a ‘dangerous’ lake

It’s a ‘dangerous’ lake

Glacial water body formed due to blocking of stream joining Rishi Ganga 38 bodies have been recovered, 168 people are still missing

AgenciesUpdated: Saturday, February 13, 2021, 12:43 AM IST
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An aerial view of washed away Tapovan hydel power project plant in Chamoli district of Uttarakhand on Friday. | —PTI

Dehradun / New Delhi

The debris brought by the avalanche in Uttarakhand earlier this week has blocked a stream that joins the Rishi Ganga river forming a temporary lake which if breached can cause further damage in the valley, said a report by the Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology.

According to its director Kalachand Sain, a team of scientists from the institute conducted an aerial survey of the upper reaches of the Rishi Ganga just a day after the Sunday avalanche and spotted the new glacial lake there.

The team took some photographs of the lake taken from a helicopter. It seems the recent avalanche has led to its formation in the higher stretches of the Rishi Ganga's catchment area, he said.

"Our scientists are examining the size of the lake, its periphery and the volume of water it contains to ascertain how big and immediate the danger from it is," Sain said.

According to the report by the Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology (WIHG), an organisation of the Department of Science and Technology, the assessment of the actual magnitude of risk involved due to this impoundment of water requires a detailed survey.

"The catastrophic floods on Sunday also brought sediments in the Rishi Ganga river. Since the width of the river is very less in the upper stretches, the sediments have blocked a stream forming a lake which may breach and cause further damage in the valley," Sain said.

Ankit Kumar Singh greets mother at his home in Baruhatu village in Latehar of Jharkhand. Ankit and 3 others safely returned home.

Ankit Kumar Singh greets mother at his home in Baruhatu village in Latehar of Jharkhand. Ankit and 3 others safely returned home. | —PTI

Rescue teams ‘battle’ on

Rescue teams battled on against various odds for the sixth consecu­tive day on Friday to get to the over 30 people trapped inside the sludge-choked Tapovan tunnel amid fading hopes of their survival. Uttarakhand DGP Ashok Kumar, in Dehradun, said sludge clearing and drilling operations are simultaneously underway at the tunnel to reach the smaller tunnel underneath where they may be trapped. “It may be the sixth day after the calamity but we have not lost hope and will try our best to save as many lives as we can,” Kumar said.

2 more bodies recovered

Two more bodies were recovered from the flash flood-hit areas of Chamoli on Friday, taking the toll in the calamity to 38, as rescue teams battled on against the odds for the sixth consecutive day to get to 25-35 people trapped in a sludge-choked tunnel here. One body was found from the rubble at the demolished Rishi Ganga Hydel Project in Raini and the other from Maithana, district administration officials said.

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