Tapovan tunnel in Uttarakhand's Joshimath area was managed to be opened by the Indian Army personnel and the Engineer Task Force on Monday, a day after it was hit by a flash flood. Rescue operations are still on as about 34 people are trapped inside the over 1,500-metre-long tunnel, over 24 hours after a glacier burst-triggered deluge killed 10 people in Chamoli district. The tunnel has only one entry.
“Rescue work continued throughout the night with earthmovers by installing generators and searchlights,” said a senior Army officer.
Earlier today, IAF helicopters had carried out placing rescue teams before first light. "Reconnaissance of higher reaches were also made to detect any avalanche threat," said a senior officer.
150 people are estimated to be dead in the flash flood that broke the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) Limited project on river Dhauli Ganga near Tapovan.
Yesterday, the NTCP in a statement said, "An avalanche near Tapovan in Uttarakhand has damaged a part of our under-construction hydropower project in the region. While the rescue operation is on, the situation is being monitored continuously with the help of district administration and police.”
On Sunday, at around 10.45 am a flash flood occurred in river Rishi Ganga near Joshimath after a part of a glacier broke and fell in the river increasing the volume. As a result, the Rishi Ganga hydro project near the Reni village was washed away. The Border Road Organisation (BRO) bridge on Joshimath-Malari highway was also destroyed.
As Rishi Ganga meets Dhauli Ganga near Reni village, the incident led to the flooding of Dhauli Ganga, triggering devastation of around six houses of the village. Two more bridges joining the villages on the other side of the river also got washed away.
Also Read: 'Uttarakhand disaster may be due to water pocket burst', say climate scientists
Meanwhile, the Rishikesh-Joshimath-Mana road that was blocked at Hathipahad because of the flash flood has been reopened.
Rescue operations in the region have been going on by the Army, National Disaster Response Force, Indo-Tibetan Border Police and the Uttarakhand authorities.
The Centre is supervising the situation and Union Home Minister Amit Shah has offered all possible help to the state.