Uttarakhand Flash Floods: 150 Missing

[Anta Assamey]

After a Himalayan glacial broke and swept away hydroelectric dam on Sunday, many houses and neighbourhood in Rishiganaga power project was damaged in the Tapovan-Reni area of Chamoli District of Uttarakhand. This also led to massive flooding in Dhauli Ganga and Alaknanda Rivers, injuring the livelihood of locals.

Unfortunately, 50 people are dead out of 100 labourers on the barrage at Rishiganga and currently, 150 people are missing. Around 11 am today, the flood occurred in river Rishiganga due to falling of glacier in the river which increased the volume of water uncontrollably. Subsequently, the Rishiganga hydro project near Raini village was entirely devastated. The BRO bridge on Joshimath-Malaria highway was also completely washed away.

Also, Dhauli Ganga got flooded with nearly six houses of the village getting washed away. The scenes are much worse as an NTPC project which was on river Dhauli Ganga near Tapovan was also devastated. Two Jhulla bridges connecting villages on the other side of the river have also been carried away by the cruel action of water. ITBP spokesperson Vivek Pandey said, “Right now it seems the worst is over as downstream the flow in Alaknanda does not appear to be very damaging and is under control. Three teams of ITBP personnel, around 250 men, are engaged in rescue at the moment.”

ITBP teams are trying to remove the debris which is blocking the Tapovan Tunnel, where many labourers are trapped. And the team is working their best to rescue the trapped labourers. Uttarakhand CM Trivendra Singh Rawat rushed to the spot and posted the same on his Twitter, He said locals near Alaknanda River are being evacuated. “In order to manage the flow in Alaknanda, the reservoirs at Rishikesh and Srinagar have been emptied,” Rawat said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted: “Am constantly monitoring the unfortunate situation in Uttarakhand. India stands with Uttarakhand and the nation pray for everyone’s safety there. Have been continuously speaking to senior authorities and getting updates on NDRF deployment, rescue work and relief operations.”

[Anta Assamey]