Modi government has started a big work to ensure that Sikkim-like devastation never happens due to snow flood.

Anubhuti Vishnoi, New Delhi: Last year, there was devastation in Sikkim due to the flood of glacial lake. Nearly a hundred people were killed and the Teesta IV hydro power plant was completely destroyed. Since this incident, the central government has focused on identifying hydropower projects and areas at risk of severe glacial lakes and glofs and dealing with them through scientific methods. New studies have shown that out of 47 projects at risk of glofs 20 are in Himachal Pradesh. These include important ones like NHPC’s Baira Siul (180 MW), SJVN’s Nathpa Jhakri (1,500 MW), private company’s Budhil (70 MW), Malana II (100 MW), Karcham Wangtu (1,045 MW) and Chanju I (36 MW). Projects included.

There are nine such projects in Uttarakhand too which are under the threat of ‘glof’. These include a project located at Dhauliganga as well as projects like Vishnuprayag and Tapovan Vishnugad. There are five such projects in Jammu and Kashmir, while there are three such projects in Arunachal Pradesh.

There are five more such projects in Sikkim which are considered sensitive. The devastation of South Lhonak Gloff was witnessed there in 2023. Data shared at the National Disaster Risk Reduction Committee’s workshop on ‘Strategies for Gloff Mitigation’ shows that mapping work is underway in all the six affected states following the incident in Sikkim. This committee was formed by NDMA after the disaster. A lot of information has been collected after several rounds of meetings and campaigns to map risk areas in the states.

According to a list prepared by NDMA, out of the 7,500 glacial lakes present in the Himalayas, about 200 are vulnerable to gulfs. The Central Water Commission has now placed 100 of these lakes in the extremely dangerous category. Of these 100 lakes, 42 are located in Sikkim, 15 each in Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir, 10 in Himachal Pradesh and 9 each in Uttarakhand and Arunachal Pradesh.

Sikkim has one ‘Category-1’ glacial lake, while 16 such lakes are spread over different places, of which 11 are in Sikkim, 3 in Himachal Pradesh. 69 glacial lakes are classified as ‘Category-3’ lakes, of which 27 are in Sikkim, 12 in Jammu and Kashmir and 11 in Ladakh. Sikkim also has 11 ‘Category-4’ glacial lakes.

Aseem Sattar of IIT Bhubaneswar warned in the meeting that the rate of melting of glaciers indicates that gloff activity may shift from the eastern Himalayas to the Hindukush or central Himalayan region, impacting Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. But it will happen.