Dehradun, February 7, 2021: Nature has taken a terrible form once again in Uttarakhand. A glacier collapsed in Raini in Chamoli district on Sunday morning. It is being said that the Dhauli river has been flooded due to the breaking of the glacier. This has increased the risk from Chamoli to Haridwar. On receiving the information, the administration team has left for the spot.

After the incident, police are alerting on loudspeakers of river banks in Chamoli district. At the same time, people living on the banks of river Alaknanda in Karnprayag are busy evacuating the house.

It is worth noting that a private company has a power project on the Rishiganga River on the Niti Marg beyond Joshimath, where about 24 MW of power is produced. It is being said that a part of the glacier broke from the hill and fell on this dam. Due to this, a part of the dam is damaged due to which the water of the dam is rapidly flowing into the Alaknanda River. The Central Water Commission has issued an alert at all its posts as the flow of Alaknanda River increases. The arrival of this water in Rishikesh and Haridwar is estimated within 6 to 7 hours.

The dam was damaged due to the breaking of the glacier, causing flooding in the Dholi river. The Tapovan Barrage is completely demolished. Many people have been reported missing since the incident. An alert has been sounded due to increasing danger from Chamoli to Haridwar. Police and SDRF teams have started evacuating the riverbank along with loudspeakers. Boat rafting operators are also being removed from the Ganges river in Rishikesh.

According to Chamoli district administration a lot of damage is being reported due to the glacier burst. Police and SDRF teams have rushed to the spot. Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat is taking information from Secretary Disaster Management and DM Chamoli.

Rawat said, “A disaster was reported at Raini village at around 10.45 am, affecting two dam sites in Chamoli. Immediate instructions were issued to take stock of the situation and take emergency measures. Simultaneously, the state’s disaster response mechanism was activated.

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.

The State Chief Secretary, disaster management department and my own team are at the control centre and monitoring the situation on a real-time basis and they have been instructed to take all appropriate actions necessary to deal with the emerging situation.

Currently, no additional water flows are being reported & there is no flood situation anywhere. Water from the affected site has reached beyond Nandprayag and the river was flowing 1 meter above normal levels. No loss has been reported from villages along Alaknanda.”

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, “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.”