Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat on Sunday said that the flow from the Tehri dam was stopped to facilitate the smooth passage of rising waters on Rishiganga and Alaknanda rivers in view of the Chamoli flood situation.
“Flow from Tehri dam was stopped to facilitate the smooth passage of rising waters on RishiGanga and Alaknanda. All the villages and low-lying areas on the banks were vacated and water flow from Srinagar dam was increased to manage higher water flows due to disaster,” Rawat tweeted. He further said that the water flow in the Alaknanda River has become normal past Nandprayag and the water level of the river is now 1 meter above normal but the flow is decreasing.
Rishiganga Power Project has been damaged due breach of a glacier in the Tapovan area. People living on the bank of the Alaknanda River are advised to move to safe places at the earliest by the Chamoli Police.
About 100-150 people are feared to be dead in the flash flood in Chamoli following an avalanche near a power project at Raini village in the Tapovan area, Uttarakhand Chief Secretary OM Prakash said.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah said that Chief Minister has spoken to him regarding the natural disaster in Uttarakhand. All officers concerned are working on a war footing to rescue people.
Chamoli district magistrate has instructed officials to evacuate people living in villages on the bank of the Dhauliganga River. The district magistrate and the superintendent of police have left for the spot.
Part of an under-construction hydropower project of state-run power major NTPC has been damaged by the avalanche in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli district on Sunday. The company has said that it is monitoring the situation continuously along with the district administration and police. Part of the under-construction Tapovan Vishnugad hydro power project (520 MW) has faced damages while another privately-owned Rishiganga Power Project (130 MW) was completely devastated.
“An avalanche near Tapovan in Uttarakhand has damaged a part of our under-construction hydropower project in the region. While rescue operation is on, situation is being monitored continuously with the help of district administration and police,” NTPC said in a tweet.
The incident occurred after the water level in Dhauliganga river, suddenly surged on Sunday morning following an avalanche near the Rishi Ganga power project. The 85 km river meets the Alaknanda river at Vishnuprayag at the base of Joshimath mountain in Uttarakhand.
With agency inputs