At 125 labourers working at the Rishiganga power project are missing after a portion of Nanda Devi glacier broke off in Tapovan area of Joshimath in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli district on Sunday morning and damaged the Rishiganga dam on Alaknanda river. After the incident, experts have once again started questioning rampant construction of hydro-power projects on the various tributaries of Ganges in the region.
The water level in the Dhauli Ganga river surged up once again on Sunday night under the impact of the glacial burst during the day, creating panic among people living in the area. The sudden surge in the water level in the Dhauli Ganga at around 8 pm prompted authorities to suspend rescue operations underway at a project site in the vicinity of the river for the time being. Rescue efforts, focussed on extricating 30-35 people trapped in the debris clogging one of the tunnels at the Tapovan-Vishnugad hydel project, will be resumed on Monday morning, the GM of the project said. Swirling waters of the river gurgling downwards are causing fear among people living in the area, he said late Sunday night.
Earlier, addressing a press conference in the evening, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat had said while the number of missing persons might increase, seven bodies have been recovered so far. Rawat also announced Rs 4 lakh financial assistance each for the families of those killed in the mishap.
The CM visited the affected area to take stock of the situation and spoke to the officials of the state disaster management and Chamoli administration. All districts were sounded on high alert and people were warned not to venture near the Ganga river. Rawat also appealed to people to not spread rumours through old flood videos.
Soon after the tragedy took place, rescue teams from the state disaster management and India-Tibet Border Force rushed to the spot. The ITBP officials rescued people trapped inside the tunnel in Chamoli. Four Army columns, two medical teams, one engineering task force deployed at Ringi village in Uttarakhand for flash floods rescue. Army helicopters on aerial reconnaissance.
According to a SDRF official, a head constable from Joshimath informed the control room this morning that a glacier in Raini village has broken off. He said there was an avalanche at Nanda Devi two days back.
A wall of dust, rock and water hit as an avalanche roared down the Rishiganga valley deep in the mountains of Uttarakhand, a witness said.
“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.”
Earlier state chief secretary Om Prakash had said 100 to 150 people were feared dead. A large number of the missing were workers at the 13.2 MW Rishiganga Hydroelectric Project which was destroyed by the bursting of the glacier.
Footage shared by locals showed the water washing away parts of the Rishiganga dam and everything else in its path. At least 180 sheep were washed away.
NTPC said the avalanche had damaged a part of its Tapovan Vishnugad hydropower plant that was under construction further down the river. It gave no details but said the situation is being monitored continuously.
Uma Bharti, former water resources minister and senior BJP leader, criticised the construction of a power project in the area.
“When I was a minister I had requested that Himalaya is a very sensitive place, so power projects should not be built on Ganga and its main tributaries,” she said on Twitter, referring to the main river that flows from the mountains.
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.
“The government should no longer ignore warnings from experts and stop building hydropower projects and extensive highway networks in this fragile ecosystem.”