Uttarakhand disaster: ITBP halts rescue ops as water level increases in river Rishiganga

Uttarakhand DGP Ashok Kumar on Thursday informed that the rescue work at the tunnel in the Chamoli district of Tapovan has been temporarily put on hold as the water level of river Alaknanda and Rishiganga surged in the afternoon. The local residents were immediately alerted and asked to go to safe places. Also, people are advised by the ITBP and Police Control Room (Gopeshwar) not to panic.  

Tapovan on alert

Kumar also informed that the authorities have issued the notice to request people not to panic and remain alert. He added that the orders have been given to vacate the areas downstream. A notice issued by the virtual police station, Janpad (Chamoli) read, "according to the information received from the Police Control Room (Gopeshwar), the water level in the river has increased. As per the orders released by the Police Inspector Shri. Yashwant Singh Chauhan, local police is requesting people to remain alert. Chamoli Police requests you not to panic."

The director of National Thermal Power Corporation's (NTPC) Tapovan hydropower project - Ujjwal Bhattacharya on Thursday informed "We had reached a distance of 6 meters and then realised that water is coming there. Had we continued, there would have been issues as rocks are unstable. Excavators would have fallen. So, we have suspended drilling operation for time being,"

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ITBP says don't panic

Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) issued a statement, asserting, "Rescue operations in the tunnel temporarily halted as a precaution for the time being due to a low rise in water level in River Dhauli Ganga. Nothing alarming as seen in the river flow as of now." Also, JCB machines, equipment, and rescue teams exit the tunnel in Joshimath, Chamoli district as a precautionary measure. 

After a glacier breach in the Tapovan-Reni area of Chamoli District of Uttarakhand on Sunday, severe flooding occurred in Dhauliganga and Alaknanda rivers. The heavy flood damaged the pulls, bridges, and the Rishiganga hydro project. As of now, 32 bodies have been recovered from different regions and 206 people are still missing. 

ITBP, SDRF, NDRF had been deployed for the rescue operation in the affected areas by the state government. Hundreds of rescue workers continued digging through a tunnel in north India where dozens of workers are missing after the sudden collapse of a Himalayan glacier. Earlier, Trivendra Singh Rawat announced an ex-gratia of Rs 4 lakh to the kin of those who had lost their lives to the calamity. PM Modi, while addressing a rally in Haldia had prayed for the victims stuck in the disaster. He had also assured all possible help to the state to tide over the crisis. 

(with ANI inputs)

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