The people of Raini village in Tapovan, of Chamoli District, Uttarakhand were victims of disaster on a fateful or shall we say ‘fatal’ Sunday February 7, 2021. A glacier (a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight) broke off near the 13.2 MW Rishiganga hydropower project in Raini Village. Around 170 people were reported missing and bodies of 31 persons have so far been recovered. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries.
According to reports in the media, most of the missing people are workers of the Hydro project. The village has been completely washed away and five bridges crashed due to sudden barrage of water that gushed forth. The 520MW hydro project of NTPC on the Dhauliganga river has been partially damaged. The Chamoli disaster reminds us of the very similar Kedarnath tragedy in 2013.
The sudden flood in the Dhauli Ganga, Rishi Ganga and Alaknanda rivers triggered widespread panic and large-scale devastation in the high mountain areas. Authorities in Uttarakhand have sounded an alarm from Chamoli to Haridwar. Preliminary reports suggest that there has been heavy damage and loss of lives due to the breaking of the Tapovan- Vishnugad dam. Several people have drowned although a clear picture is yet to emerge. Meanwhile, officials said that settlements near the river banks from Chamoli till Rishikesh and Haridwar are being cleared.
Rescue operations are underway. Personnel from the Services – the Army, ITBP and Engineering Task Force have so far succeeded in clearing the mouth of the tunnel. Dredgers are being used to clear the mud and debris inside the tunnel to open it. Over 30 people are feared to be trapped in the tunnel since Sunday.
Trivendra Singh Rawat, Chief Minister of Uttarakhand, conducted an aerial survey and also visited the stretch near the disaster location. In a press conference later in the evening in Dehradun, he announced Rs 4 lakh relief to the next of kin of those who had died in the disaster. He also said that 100 personnel of Indian Army, including those from the engineering task force, and about 250 personnel from ITBP are actively engaged in the rescue operations. He added that the army has also pressed its choppers into service to assist in the rescue operations and are also carrying out relief work for the affected people. The choppers are supplying essential items to the 11 villages, which have got disconnected. PM Modi also announced ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh for the families of the deceased.
A team of scientists from Snow and Avalanche Study Establishment (SASE) of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), were flown to Dehradun on Monday for surveillance and preliminary survey.
International geologists and glaciologists, after studying satellite imagery is of the opinion that the cause of the Chamoli flooding disaster in Uttarakhand is a landslide and not a glacial outburst as reported.
The Chamoli disaster has come like the nth reminder to humans that nature will hit back at a time of its choosing, when the ecological balance is affected. The disaster location has two power projects on the Rishi Ganga and Dhauli Ganga rivers. Large scale stone quarrying, digging of tunnels etc have taken place at the project site. It is evident from the reports that experts and ecologists have warned the authorities on the ill effects of these projects.
“The Himalayan ecosystem is a very delicate place and there is a normal way for rivers to flow and these man-made interventions are absolutely mindless of the hazards it is going to cause,” said Dr Chaitra Arohi, Environmental Scientist.
He said that the political system and the public should understand the many scientific studies and facts about the area before constructing anything. “I am not saying that you shouldn’t build anything, I am telling you to find the right place and the right way to plan development in these areas,” he said.
Nature has a way of proving that it is mightier than human beings. Natural disasters are occurring in India with a greater ferocity and frequency than ever before. We should stop causing ecological damage on the pretext of development and providing infrastructure facilities for human comforts. Otherwise, the days are not far ahead, when we have to encounter far more perilous natural disasters causing more loss of life and livelihood.
“Such avalanches have happened in the past and will happen in the future too. But what we should note is that this time, a lot of damage has been done because of the many constructions disrupting the natural flow of nature,” said Dr Chaitra.
