A lake formed after melting of glaciers at Satopanth in Chamoli district posed fresh danger to the rain-ravaged areas of Badrinath, Joshimath and Karnaprayag, prompting the administration to issue an alert.
At least 50 major landslides occurred in just four road stretches in calamity-torn Uttarakhand, where hundreds of pilgrims are feared to have perished in flash floods, an official said.
The U'khand CM appealed to people to not make the tragedy an occasion for building an "anti-development narrative"
Using drones and remote-sensing equipment, rescue teams intensified efforts on Wednesday to reach the 25-35 men trapped in a sludge-choked tunnel since the Uttarakhand glacier disaster three days ago and more than 170 remained missing, hopes of finding them alive fading with every passing hour.
A 13.2 MW small hydro project on the Rishiganga river was swept away in the glacier burst in Uttarakhand on Sunday, but there is no danger of floods in the downstream areas as the water level has been contained.
The massive flood in the Dhauli Ganga river triggered by a glacial burst in Uttarakhand's Chamoli district on Sunday came as a grim reminder of the Kedarnath deluge of 2013 which led to widespread devastation in the ecologically fragile Himalayan region.
Uttarakhand Director-General of Police Ashok Kumar informed that 168 people are still missing following the glacier burst.
The teams carried out a helicopter survey of the area on Tuesday to find clues as to what led to the massive flash floods that swept everything on the way.
'Unlike in the Kedarnath floods of 2013, which happened due to heavy rains, no such thing happened in Chamoli.' 'The damage was done only because of the hot sun.'
'Geological processes occur at time scales that are beyond human imagination, but we need to understand these events.'
Groups of relatives have gathered at the Tapovan tunnel, hoping that their loved ones will emerge alive from its mouth.
It stands at a distance watching soundlessly as multiple teams work to reach those buried under mounds of debris and is sometimes heard breaking into howls of anguish -- a canine sentinel watching the rescue mission in its search for its missing puppies.
'Events like the one we saw on Sunday are complex geological processes which can be impacted by weather and climatic conditions.' 'It is difficult to attribute something like this to just one factor or to a particular time period, especially when we have still not understood the exact cause.'
'From environmental impact assessment to forest clearances, this has turned out to be an unscientific road-widening project with catastrophic consequences.'
The move to declare those who continue to be missing in the flash flood as presumed dead has been initiated to expedite the process of distribution of compensation among the affected families, he said.
'We completed Rs 17 trillion worth of projects in the first term and currently Rs 9 trillion worth of contracts are under construction.'
As bodies are being continually pulled out of the muck-filled power project tunnel in Tapovan, the atmosphere outside is getting grimmer with families of the missing people losing hope of seeing them alive.
Security personnel at work inside the tunnel rushed out and heavy machines engaged in drilling through the debris and sludge inside were withdrawn.
Asserting that the agitation against the Centre's farm laws is a people's movement that will not fail, Bharatiya Kisan Union leader Rakesh Tikait on Sunday said there will be no 'ghar wapsi' till protesting farmers' demands are met.
'We have to up our vigil everywhere, all along the LAC -- winter, summer or spring.'
Singh also reviewed the situation on the border and assessed the progress in various infrastructure projects.
Melting of Himalayan glaciers has doubled since the start of the 21st century due to rising temperatures, losing over a vertical foot and half of ice each year and potentially threatening water supply for hundreds of millions of people in countries, including India, according to a study published in 2019.
'Above 2,000 metres the gradient of the Himalayas is very steep and if you build any infrastructure (roads, dams, hydro power projects) in these regions, it will not be able to sustain these events (the onslaught of debris that comes down with great speeds).'
Last ditch efforts were on to evacuate about 900 people from Badrinath amid overcast conditions at some places in Uttarakhand on Monday where authorities were grappling with the task of extricating bodies from under tonnes of debris lying in Kedarghati and their cremation.
The Indian Army has launched one of the biggest human rescue operations in Uttarakhand. On Thursday it mobilised troops for rescue and relief efforts, as it simultaneously reached out to over 8,000 people on all four different axes, viz, Rishikesh-Uttarkashi-Harsil-Gangotri axis; Rudraprayag -Kedarnath axis, Joshimath-Badrinath axis and Dharchhula -Tawaghat axis in Pithoragarh district, a statement said.
Making a statement in the House "regarding an avalanche in Chamoli District of Uttarakhand", the Union minister said these inputs were based on the information received till Monday 5 pm from the state government.
India cricketer Harbhajan Singh, who was stranded in Joshimath due to incessant rains while on a pilgrimage, was rescued and taken to safety by the Indian Air Force.
Indian cricketer Harbhajan Singh has described the experience of getting caught in the massive floods in Uttarakhand while on a pilgrimage as 'sad' and 'unbelievable'.
GetAhead reader Mridula Dwivedi shares pictures of her trek to the Valley of Flowers and Hemkunt Sahib in Uttarakhand.
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'The 100-metre stretch from the opening of this tunnel is completely flooded with debris; the oxygen supply (through the pipes) too had gotten over and the chances of any survivors inside this tunnel are very bleak. Nobody has been able to talk to the people trapped inside'
'We have been appealing to various governments for so many years that there should be no dams in the Himalayas, but no one listens.' 'Nature responded in its own way.'
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Efforts are on to rescue the two trekking teams trapped in the Gharwal Himalayas due to heavy rains hitting the area for the past two days and they are reported to be safe.
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The Shankaracharya of the Jyotirmath Peeth in Badrinath alleged that the devotees of the Shankaracharya of Dwaraka stole ornaments of Goddess Purnagiri.
Snowfall in the higher reaches of Garhwal Himalayas and intermittent rains in lower areas affected the Char Dham yatra on Tuesday with the pilgrimage to the famous Kedarnath shrine suspended till May 16 and yatra to Badrinath halted temporarily.
'We need an early warning system in India.'
With the majority of pilgrims evacuated from Badrinath, disposal of bodies lying in affected areas and transportation of relief material to locals in flooded villages on Sunday posed a fresh challenge to authorities in Uttarakhand.
Twenty one years ago, the Indian Army and Indian Air Force fought a bloody and bitter war to evict Pakistani intruders from the icy heights in Kargil. Air Commodore Nitin Sathe (retd) salutes the lesser known heroes of the Kargil War.
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