Dehradun, July 12, 2013: Uttarakhand Disaster Mitigation and Management Centre (DMMC) has issued a warning on the formation of a lake near Mana village on the Alaknanda River. This was in response to a National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC) report that warned of a lake forming to the west of Mana in Badrinath in Chamoli district. The report, called Monitoring of Glacial Lake in Bhagirathi and Alaknanda Basins, said the heavy rainfall forecast between July 5 and 8 in the State raised “fears about formation or outburst of glacial lakes” near the village.

As the report e-mailed to the DMMC does not clearly present the study as a warning, the DMMC authorities have asked the NRSC to clarify if the report was to be treated as such.

But, given the present situation of the State, the DMMC has issued a warning for the area which is in Chamoli district.

The NRSC report shows glacial lakes around the Bhagirathi, and the Satopanth glaciers. Also, the Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) Bhuvan satellite shows a pre-event image that depicts a probable landslide area near Mana village in Badrinath.

A July 7 image from the Radar Imaging Satellite 1, showing impoundment of water along the Alaknanda river in the Badrinath area, is the cause of fear of a probable lake burst in the area. The satellite images compare the situation of the area between May 23, June 21, and July 7 this year. Though the report was sent by the NRSC as information, fear of a tragedy similar to the one that occurred in Kedarnath has alarmed the State disaster management department.

The Kedarnath catastrophe that happened on June 17 was also a result of a lake outburst.On June 17, due to heavy rainfall, water level in the Gandhi Sarovar started rising drastically.

Source: The Hindu, DT. July 12, 2013.