Govt, other agencies hold crucial meeting to discuss lake formed after Uttarakhand floods - Hindustan Times
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Govt, other agencies hold crucial meeting to discuss lake formed after Uttarakhand floods

By | Written by Harshit Sabarwal, New Delhi
Feb 22, 2021 08:34 PM IST

The meeting was chaired by Union home secretary Ajay Bhalla and attended by Indo-Tibetan Border Police Force (ITBP) chief SS Deswal and officials of the Uttarakhand government.

A crucial meeting was held on Monday to discuss the further course of action on the lake created after flash floods in Uttarakhand's Chamoli district.

On Saturday, the Indian Navy carried out a joint operation with the Indian Air Force (IAF) where divers were sent to measure the depth of the lake in Chamoli district.(PTI file photo. Representative image)
On Saturday, the Indian Navy carried out a joint operation with the Indian Air Force (IAF) where divers were sent to measure the depth of the lake in Chamoli district.(PTI file photo. Representative image)

The meeting was chaired by Union home secretary Ajay Bhalla and attended by Indo-Tibetan Border Police Force (ITBP) chief SS Deswal and officials of the Uttarakhand government.

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In the 45-minute-long meeting, the officials decided that various agencies will observe the water level of the lake that has been created and if it increases, further course of action will be decided, news agency ANI reported quoting sources in the government. Bhalla promised continued help from central government agencies to Uttarakhand as and when needed by it.

The flash flood in the Dhauliganga river on February 7, which was triggered by a glacier burst, swept away settlements along the way and destroyed a small hydel power plant. Dozens of people were trapped under the debris - some of them in the tunnels in Tapovan.

Also Read| Uttarakhand flash flood: Death toll reaches 69; 135 still missing

Many rescue agencies, including ITBP and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), are looking for survivors and taking out the dead bodies. So far, the death toll due to the tragedy has reached 69.

The authorities in Uttarakhand also got to know about an artificial lake which was found as a result of glacier burst. A team of DRDO and other scientists studied the lake to understand if there is any threat.

On Saturday, the Indian Navy carried out a joint operation with the Indian Air Force (IAF) where divers were sent to measure the depth of the lake in Chamoli district. The operation took place at a height of 14,000 feet above the mean sea level.

Also Watch| Navy divers, in IAF helicopter, measure glacial lake depth in Tapovan



The artificial lake is 400 metres long, 25 metres wide and 60 metres deep, as per the Central Water Commission (CWC) and was formed after sediments that the fatal flash floods brought down started blocking the mouth of a stream that joins the Rishiganga river, one of the many tributaries of Alaknanda river.

Rescuers say that 135 people are still missing. Rescue operations are on in the Tapovan barrage area and tunnel and rescue workers have managed to reach up to a distance of 171 metres inside the tunnel with the NDRF adding that the excavation work went on from 11.50 pm to 2.15 am last night in order to de-water the tunnel.

(With ANI inputs)

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