Uttarakhand Glacier Burst: A Tragedy That Could Have Been Averted | Explained 

New Delhi: In 2019, two years before the Nanda Devi glacier broke off at Joshimath in Chamoli district of Uttarakhand, residents of Reni village had raised an alarm of a disaster. More than 200 people are missing and 19 people lost their lives in the mishap that took place on Sunday morning.

“Rishiganga project at Raini completely washed away. 5 kms from there is under construction Tapovan project. As of now, around 203 people missing. There was a subsidiary company at Tapovan with 24-25 people, no info on them till today”, said Uttarakhand CM Trivendra Singh Rawat.

How Timely Action by Authorities Could Have Averted Tragedy? 

In 2019, a man named Kundan Singh, on the behalf of the scheduled tribe villagers of Reni village had filed PIL in the Uttarakhand High Court stating that the construction of the Rishi Ganga hydel project could cause huge damage to them. The petitioner alleged that the project flouted all norms that the government had laid down for stone crushing activity in this area.

The court had directed the authorities and state government to form a panel and monitor the Hydroelectric project site in Chamoli.

He claimed that authorities did not pay heed to villagers’ complaints. “Even though the villagers complained to the authorities about the violations, no credible action was taken”, Times of India quoted Singh as saying.

Besides, a number of environmentalists, such as Bharat Jhunjunwala and Ravi Chopra of People’s Science Institute, had also raised objection to back-to-back dams in the hill state saying it was killing river Ganga and the local ecology.

Rishiganga Hydroelectric Project 

The 13.2 MW  Rishiganga project had resumed generating power last June. The project was also swept away in the 2016 floods, leading to stoppage of power generation.

Later, Ludhiana-based Kundan Group took over the project through the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT).

Apart from this, part of an under-construction hydropower project of state-run power major NTPC was also damaged by the avalanche.

“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.