SDRF keeping eye on lake formation over Rishiganga: Official

Dehradun, February 16

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The SDRF on Tuesday said it is keeping a strict vigil around the Rishiganga river due to the formation of a lake five-six km above it after the recent glacial disaster in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli district, despite the water body posing no immediate threat.

Satellite pictures have recently confirmed the formation of the lake at a height of 14,000 feet in the catchment area of the Rishiganga, after which a State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) team was despatched to the location to check the facts.

The team found that water is seeping from the lake in a natural way, reducing the chances of an outburst that can cause a fresh flood downstream.

Still, the SDRF has deployed its men from the lake up to Raini and Tapovan to maintain a constant vigil, commandant of the force Navneet Bhullar, who led the team to the lake, said.

Besides, sensors have also been installed in the area under the early warning system to keep an eye on the flow of water in the Rishiganga and Dhauliganga rivers.

An eye is also being kept on the lake through satellites, Bhullar said.

On February 7, a flash flood triggered by a glacier burst in Chamoli killed a large number of people, besides demolishing a 13.2-mw hydel project in the Rishiganga, and caused extensive damage to the 520-mw Dhauliganga hydel project of the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC). PTI