A section of the Nanda Devi glacier broke off in the Joshimath area of Uttarakhand's Chamoli district. It has caused massive flooding in the Dhauliganga and Alaknanda rivers, reports said on Sunday.
Three people have been reported dead, as per latest reports.
PTI quoted ITBP spokesperson Vivek Kumar Pandey as saying, "More than 100 labourers working at a barrage and 50 plus working at a tunnel are feared dead or missing as per the site in-charge of Tapovan and the local administration. Three bodies have been recovered till now
Teams from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), the State Disaster Response Force, and the Indo-Tibetan Border Police have been deployed for rescue and relief operations."
Several districts, including Pauri, Tehri, Rudraprayag, Haridwar, and Dehradun, have been put on high alert. NDTV reported that the state government has ordered the emergency evacuation of people in the immediate areas.
No flood situation anywhere currently: CM
Uttarakhand chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat, who said he will visit the affected site later on Sunday, tweeted at 1.21 pm on Sunday that the level of water in the Alaknand river is decreasing.
"The reassuring news is that the flow of Alaknanda River beyond Nandprayag has become normal. The water level of the river is now 1 meter above normal but the flow is decreasing. The state chief secretary, disaster secretary, police officer and all my team are constantly monitoring the situation in the disaster control room," he said.
राहत की खबर ये है कि नंदप्रयाग से आगे अलकनंदा नदी का बहाव सामान्य हो गया है। नदी का जलस्तर सामान्य से अब 1 मीटर ऊपर है लेकिन बहाव कम होता जा रहा है। राज्य के मुख्य सचिव, आपदा सचिव, पुलिस अधिकारी एवं मेरी समस्त टीम आपदा कंट्रोल रूम में स्थिति पर लगातार नज़र रख रही है। pic.twitter.com/MoY3LX49rF
— Trivendra Singh Rawat (@tsrawatbjp) February 7, 2021
Rawat also appealed to people to refrain from spreading rumours with old flood videos. "I am visiting the site myself. I request everyone not to spread panic by sharing any old videos. All necessary steps have been taken to deal with the situation," he tweeted.
At 2.42 pm, Rawat posted an update saying,
Currently no additional water flows are being reported & there is no flood situation anywhere. Water from the affected site has reached beyond Nandprayag and river was flowing 1 meter above normal levels. No loss has been reported from villages along Alaknanda. #Uttarakhand
— Trivendra Singh Rawat (@tsrawatbjp) February 7, 2021
Prayers for #Uttarakhand pic.twitter.com/7MqEEPitWN
— Zeba Warsi (@Zebaism) February 7, 2021
News18 has quoted Union Power Minister RK Singh as saying that 16 staffers of the NTPC were caught in a tunnel, and that contact has now been established with them. "At a second location, 45 people have been trapped. Tunnels are blocked by debris. Indo-Tibetan Border Police and Garhwal Rifle personnel are trying to open the tunnel and rescue the people," Singh was further quoted as saying.
In a video shared by News18, ITBP personnel can be seen attempting to open a tunnel blocked by debris.
.@ITBP_official personnel digging to open Tapovan Tunnel which is completely blocked due to debris pic.twitter.com/N2QKM3a0z4
— Arunima (@Arunima24) February 7, 2021
India stands with Uttarakhand, says Modi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah said that they are monitoring the situation.
Am constantly monitoring the unfortunate situation in Uttarakhand. India stands with Uttarakhand and the nation prays for everyone’s safety there. Have been continuously speaking to senior authorities and getting updates on NDRF deployment, rescue work and relief operations.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 7, 2021
Shah said that teams of the NDRF, SDRF, and ITBP will work on "war footing" to rescue affected people.
Soon after the incident, the Chamoli Police tweeted saying, "The public is informed that the Rishiganga power project has been damaged due to glaciers in the Tapovan Raini area, which has caused the river's water level to rise. The people living along the Alaknanda River are warned to leave the area."
The Uttar Pradesh government also issued a high alert for areas along the Ganga river. The government has asked authorities in all districts on the banks of the Ganga to continuously monitor the water level.
In a disaster alert issued to all the district magistrates in Uttar Pradesh, the Relief Commissioner said in a statement, "Report of breaking of a part of Nandadevi Glacier in Uttarakhand has been received. The districts on the Ganga river (banks) need to be on a high alert and the monitoring of water level needs to be done 24 7. If required, people need to be evacuated."
With inputs from PTI
from Firstpost India Latest News https://ift.tt/3cWBlt8
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