On the 7th of February, Uttarakhand glacier broke in Joshimath area of Chamoli district.
The incident which happened on the afternoon of the 7th of February killed as many as 14 people with 170 missing.
The bodies of 14 people were recovered from different places so far. The glacier burst in the district led to heavy floods.
The Chamoli Police are conducting rescue operations and so far rescued 15 people.
A witness said, “We helplessly watched our loved ones washed away.”
Ashok Kumar, the Director General of Police (DGP) of Uttarakhand, who is supervising the rescue operation said, “No need to spread panic. The glacier burst yesterday, boulders and debris followed which washed away the Raini power project causing a massive impact on Tapovan. All of this happened yesterday. 32 people from first and 121 people are missing from the 2nd project. Out of these, 10 bodies have been recovered so far, 3 from Tapovan and 7 in the route to Karnprayag. 12 people rescued from the smaller tunnel in Tapovan yesterday. Efforts are underway to open the bigger tunnel. Debris are being removed from it.”
Besides rescue operations, the district police is also conducting aerial rescue.
Relief missions started on the morning of the 8th of February with Mi-17 and ALH helicopters flying from Dehradun to Joshimath
The Indian Air Force reached Uttarakhand with disaster relief teams on board.
Vivek Pandey, the Spokesperson of the Indo Tibetan Border Police ( ITBP) said, “We’ve intensified search operations at the 2nd tunnel. We’ve information that around 30 people are trapped there. Around 300 ITBP jawans are deployed to clear the tunnel. Local administration says that around 170 people are missing.”
In addition, the United Nations decided to extend support and said, they are ready to contribute to ongoing rescue and assistance efforts if necessary.
The Spokesperson for the United Nations Secretary General, on the 8th of February said,
“Secretary-General is deeply saddened by reported loss of life & dozens missing following the glacier burst & subsequent flooding in Uttarakhand. He expresses his deep condolences to families of victims and to people and Government of India (sic.)”
Speaking of the reason behind such disastrous incident, experts claimed it to be negligence of the Government.
Pradeep Srivastava, a senior scientist at Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology said, “We fail as scientists when the Government overlooks our suggestions and assessments.”
Meanwhile another expert and Magsaysay Award Winner said, “Disaster was man-made.”
He said, “We had informed the authorities concerned that no dams should be constructed on rivers Alaknanda, Bhagirathi, and Mandakini as there are very steep slopes in the area and it is an extremely eco-sensitive zone. However, the rampant construction continues due to which the recent disaster was inevitable. In fact, it was not a natural disaster, but aman-made one.”
The Tapovan Hydro-Electric Power Dam also known as Rishi Ganga Project, completely washed off following a glacier burst in the Chamoli district.
The Indian Air Force’s Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) at Joshimath has undertaken recce of affected areas. The IAF said an Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) deployed at Joshimath has undertaken recce of affected areas and made a report regarding the damages due to the Uttarakhand Glacier burst.
‘No rise of water-level in Joshimath’: CM Rawat cautions people against rumours
Meanwhile, the Uttarakhand Police in a tweet, urged people to be cautious from fake news of water level rise in Joshimath.
The State Police said, “Misleading and fact less news is being spread on social media by some person regarding the rise in the water level in Joshimath, which is completely untrue. We request everyone to please ignore such rumours, and only trust the sources which are reliable.”
The State Disaster Rescue Force (SDRF,) the National Disaster Rescue Force (NDRF, ) the Uttarakhand Police, the IAF and rescue teams are conducting rescue operations in Chamoli district, Uttarakhand.
In addition, the Uttar Pradesh Government also cautioned people and asked them not to venture near the banks of the Ganga river.
