Uttarakhand glacier burst: Drilling operation inside Tapovan tunnel suspended

The director of National Thermal Power Corporation's (NTPCs) Tapovan hydropower project - Ujjwal Bhattacharya on Thursday informed that they have suspended drilling operation for a time being as the water is coming in the tunnel in which at least 30 people are feared to be trapped inside.

"We had reached a distance of 6 meters and then realised that water is coming there. Had we continued, there would have been issues as rocks are unstable. Excavators would have fallen. So, we have suspended drilling operation for time being," Bhattacharya said.

Replying to a question, the in-charge of the project and engineer at NTPC Ahirwar said, "Workers, who were working there and are currently there, are safe. They are trained for 3 days, only then are they sent inside. They are also given pep talk from time to time. All the equipment is tested and certified. So, the crew that was working there is capable."

As many as 32 bodies have been recovered so far from different areas hit by the glacier burst in Chamoli district, while 206 people are missing.

A joint team of Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF), and sister agencies entered the tunnel yesterday (February 10).

After a while, the rescue operation resumes at the tunnel after it was temporarily halted following a rise in the water level of the Rishiganga river. An NDRF personnel said, "Water level was rising so teams were shifted to safer locations. The operation has resumed with limited teams."

A glacier broke in the Tapovan-Reni area of Chamoli District of Uttarakhand on Sunday, which led to massive flooding in Dhauliganga and Alaknanda rivers and damaged houses and the nearby Rishiganga power project.

( With inputs from ANI )