New Delhi, August 9
China has assured India that it would attempt a “limited blast” in the lake in Tibet on Sutlej tributary to release the accumulated water in a controlled manner.
Official sources said the message was given through the hotline set up between the armies of India and China to exchange information about threat of flash floods in the Sutlej .
They said till a limited blast succeeds in puncturing the lake, the threat of a flash flood in Sutlej will not subside.
Increase in the level of the Sutlej in the past 24 hours has put the authorities on high alert. The residents along the banks of the Sutlej have been asked to remain ready for quick evacuation.
Officials believe the rise in the water level of the river has been caused either “by seepage” from the lake or by “overflow.” Excessive rain in the catchment area of Parchu could be the cause, they said.
The sources said China had so far not given clearance to the Indian team to visit the lake site. They said with China now deciding to conduct limited blast in the lake, there was less possibility of Indian experts being allowed to go to the lake site.
They said China had so far not revised its earlier estimates of dimensions of the lake, which were found to be larger than the
estimates based on satellite imagery.
Officials now put the estimate of accumulated water in the lake at 50 million cusecs.
Officials feel that if the water level in the Sutlej rises above 10 metres, it will overflow National Highway at certain places and cause loss to property. “The contingency measures have been directed mainly to prevent loss of human lives,” a senior official said.
Army units, equipped with doctors and engineers, have been placed at Sumdoh, Pooh, Karcham and Jhakri to assist the civil administration in case of a flood.
Mock exercises have been conducted to calculate the time it takes for information about flood to reach from Army to villagers.
Areas have been identified where villagers will be evacuated in case of flood.
