Express News Service
DEHRADUN: After reports of glacier break in Malari Sumna of Chamoli district at the India-Tibet border on Friday, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat said that he spoke to Union Home minister Amit Shah who has promised help and support.
Rawat tweeted, “Honorable Union Home Minister has personally taken note of the incident and promised full support and help. I am thankful on the behalf of the people of Uttarakhand for his considerate and sensitive response ”
Earlier, in the evening, reports of a glacier break started pouring in fueling rumors which were denied by the district administration.
Chamoli DM Swati Bhadauria said, “We have unconfirmed reports of glacier break. Officials from the Border Road Organization and other have left for the spot to take stock of the situation. We cannot say anything until we get some real information.”
Later, the CM himself took it to Twitter and stated that he has ordered ‘halting’ of projects in the area and alert has been announced.
नीती घाटी के सुमना में ग्लेशियर टूटने की सूचना मिली है। इस संबंध में मैंने एलर्ट जारी कर दिया है। मैं निरंतर जिला प्रशासन और बीआरओ के सम्पर्क में हूँ।
— Tirath Singh Rawat (@TIRATHSRAWAT) April 23, 2021
Uttarakhand DGP Ashok Kumar also informed through Twitter that team has been already dispatched to assess the ground situation but bad weather is the only hurdle to get information on the scale of any kind of damages.
The break is said to be near a road project in the border area which is being built by the BRO.
Scale of damages and loss of life is not known yet. The area largely remains sparsely habited or uninhabited apart from forces like Indo-ibetan Border Police, Indian Army and many other forces guarding the borders.
जिला प्रशासन को मामले की पूरी जानकारी प्राप्त करने के निर्देश दे दिए हैं। एनटीपीसी एवं अन्य परियोजनाओं में रात के समय काम रोकने के आदेश दे दिए हैं ताकि कोई अप्रिय घटना ना होने पाये।
— Tirath Singh Rawat (@TIRATHSRAWAT) April 23, 2021
The higher reaches of hilly areas of Uttarakhand including the Niti Valley received 4-5 feet of snowfall. Officials from the BRO said that access points and roads have been blocked by snowfall which can delay their journey to the spot.
In February this year, a glacier break in Raini village of the district resulted in loss of 79 lives and damaged two power plants. Hundreds are still missing in the disaster. The February flashfloods also brought back memories of 2013 Kedarnath disaster.
