It’s a ‘dangerous’ lake
Glacial water body formed due to blocking of stream joining Rishi Ganga
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.