Uttarakhand disaster: 'Was against power projects on Ganga, tributaries,' says Uma Bharti

BJP leader and former Union Minister Uma Bharti on Sunday said the Uttarakhand flood tragedy triggered by a glacier burst is a matter of concern as well as a warning. She said that as a minister she had spoken against having any power project on the Ganga and its major tributaries.

'A matter of concern as well as a warning'

Bharti was the Minister of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga rejuvenation during the first term of the Modi government. In a series of tweets in Hindi, she said the glacier breaking off had damaged a power project, triggering the massive crisis. "This tragedy that has happened in Rishi Ganga in the Himalayas is a matter of concern as well as a warning," she said.

"When I was a minister, my ministry in its affidavit about the dams in Uttarakhand in the Himalayas had requested that it is a very sensitive region, and, therefore, power projects should not be built on the Ganges and its main tributaries," she said. She said the electricity shortfall caused by that decision could have been met by national grid. Bharti said she was in Uttarkashi on Saturday and is now in Haridwar. 

Floods as glacier breaks off in U'khand

A portion of the Nanda Devi glacier broke off in Uttarakhand's Chamoli district on Sunday, triggering an avalanche and a deluge in the Alaknanda river system that washed away hydroelectric stations, leaving at least eight people dead and 125 missing.

The sudden flood in the middle of the day in the Dhauli Ganga, Rishi Ganga and Alaknanda rivers -- all intricately linked tributaries of the Ganga -- triggered widespread panic and large-scale devastation in the high mountain areas.

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Two power projects  NTPC's Tapovan-Vishnugad hydel project and the Rishi Ganga Hydel Project were extensively damaged with scores of labourers trapped in tunnels as the waters came rushing in. Sixteen men were rescued safely from a tunnel in the Tapovan project but about 125 were still missing.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he was constantly monitoring the situation in the state. Home Minister Amit Shah also spoke to CM Rawat and assured him of all possible support to deal with the situation arising from the glacier burst and the resulting floods.

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(With agency inputs)