Emergency siren for worst-hit village

DEHRADUN: Reni village, which has been worst hit by the Chamoli tragedy, has got its first sirenbased early-warning water-level sensor system to detect any sudden surge in the Rishi Ganga water.

Efforts are underway to remove the muck that was accumulated in the wake of the flash flood due to a glacier break on February 7.

State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) commandant Navneet Bhullar said the water level sensor has been set up nearly one kilometre upstream of the village. “If the water level rises by a few feet, the siren will be sounded and villagers will be alerted downstream to move away from the river,” he said.

Bhullar said three teams of SDRF have also been deployed for monitoring the Rishi Ganga river upstream and downstream at Peng village, Rishi Ganga Dam site and Tapovan dam site to keep a tab on the water level.

Ravi Chauhan, Everest summiteer and part of SDRF’S high altitude rescue team (HART), said they conducted the final trial of the early warning system water sensor on Tuesday, and it is operational now. “If the water rises by few feet in Rishi Ganga, it will blow a siren to alert the villagers downstream so that they can vacate the river area well in time,” he said

The formation of a lake in upstream Rishi Ganga has left officials worried about the water level in the river. Even as it is slowly draining from the lake, various experts and SDRF are taking various precautionary measures.

While 58 bodies have been recovered so far, at least 146 people are still missing. Of the 58, 11 bodies have been recovered from Tapaovan dam tunnel so far.