Artificial lake forms as landslide blocks Chenab for 2 hours

MANALI: A massive landslide near Junda village of Himachal’s Lahaul-Spiti district blocked the flow of the Chenab river on Friday.
A huge chunk of the mountain face collapsed suddenly and fell on the riverbed, blocking the flow of water in the Chenab and a huge lake was formed upstream. Nearly two dozen villages, both downstream and upstream, were evacuated. Four houses were submerged, some livestock was washed away and two women trapped in water were rescued by villagers.
The huge lake was formed after tonnes of debris blocked the river flow for more than two hours. The water level became stable after the river managed to make its way through the debris, but the danger of lake outburst flood kept authorities on high alert.
Two women from Junda village, Suman and Damyanti, who were trapped when the river water entered their house, were injured. “I was completely inside the water. I couldn’t breathe for a long time and was struggling to stay above the water level. I thought I’m going to die. Water had risen till Damyanti’s neck. We screamed for help,” said Suman.
“The river water from the lake-like dam is now flowing over the debris. Till the last report, the water level had started receding below danger level after it started flowing over the debris,” said Lahaul-Spiti superintendent of police Manav Verma.
The Chenab river is in spate due to heavy rains and the melting of glaciers. The Chenab originates in the Lahaul valley when the Chandra and Bhaga rivers meet at Tandi village. The river flows from Himachal to J&K before entering Pakistan