U’KHAND FLOOD

pany, 21 from Om Maital, three from NHPC and two from Tapovan village.

Another 25 to 35 workers are still trapped inside the Tapovan dam tunnel, where rescue operation is underway. The State Emergency Operation Centre said 27 people have been rescued alive so farm — 15 from Rishi Ganga dam and 12 from NTPC’s Tapovan dam.

Alok added that 70 SDRF personnel, two teams of National Disaster Response Force, 425 personnel of IndoTibetan Border Police (ITBP), one team of Seema Suraksha Bal and 125 army personnel were carrying out the rescue and relief operations in affected areas of Chamoli.

Eyewitnesses recalled that such was the force of the water flowing and boulders rolling down from the upper reaches near Raini village that the under-construction Rishi Ganga dam was completely washed away.

The debris from there gushed into the Dhauliganga river, a tributary of the Alaknanda, causing heavy damage to the 530 MW Dhauli Ganga hydel project, just 10 kilometres away.

Sniffer dogs and heavy mechanical equipment, including bulldozers and earth movers, were deployed in the areas to aid the rescue workers.

A search operation is also underway to recover bodies downstream at Reni village, Tapovan, Joshimath, Ghochar, Karnprayag , Rudraprayag, Dharidevi and Srinagar, Alok said.

Uttarakhand chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat said saving lives and extending all help to the families of the deceased is the state government’s priority. Rawat said a comprehensive analysis of the entire incident is being carried out to avert future tragedies.

He said the incident appeared to have happened due to the breaking of the glacier. “A DRDO (Defence Research and Development Organisation) team is already studying the cause of this tragedy and we have also sought the help of ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation) scientists and experts for the same,” he said.

Uttarakhand director general of police (DGP) Ashok Kumar added that efforts were focussed on rescuing 30-35 labourers trapped in a 250-metre tunnel at Tapovan.

Two villages are cut off and essentials are being supplied to them. The work was complicated by the fact that the tunnel is slightly curved, making difficult to clear the slush, debris and silt blocking it.

The entire landscape was coloured a sandy grey, many structures swept away and buried under piles of silt.

“Our teams worked overnight to rescue about 30 workers who are trapped in the tunnel. Specialised equipment for such operations has been deployed. We are hopeful we will able to rescue everyone,” ITBP spokesperson Vivek Kumar Pandey said.

Pandey said nearly 300 ITBP personnel are currently deployed at the site.

Another official said 34 people are estimated to be trapped in the ‘head race tunnel’ or HRT. The tunnel has only one entry, an official said.

With no clarity on what led to the disaster and experts pointing to climate change, scientists also headed to Chamoli to understand what had happened.

According to the Uttarakhand government, the glacial lake burst was first seen on Sunday morning between 9.30 and 10 am.

Experts said that the water from the glacial lake, which could have burst because of an avalanche, could have started much earlier.

There is very little satellite monitoring of glaciers in this region.

AROUND 25 TO 35 WORKERS ARE STILL TRAPPED INSIDE THE TAPOVAN DAM TUNNEL, WHERE RESCUE OP IS UNDERWAY