NEW DELHI: The Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF) catastrophe in Nepal Wednesday has renewed dialogue on India’s personal technique and preparedness to mitigate such danger with the presence of roughly 200 high-risk glacial lakes within the Himalayan areas.In response to govt’s survey of those glacial lakes, Himalayan ranges are host to as many as 7,500 of them – with 10% in Sikkim and of which 25 are thought-about very high-risk. The research discovered 4,700 of those glacial lakes located in Ganga river basin with a catchment space estimated at over 2.5 lakh sqkm, projecting a colossal scale of devastation a single breach may trigger.India suffered one of many worst GLOF disasters in latest instances when on Oct 3, 2023, glacial rocks of 14.7 cubic meter collapsed in South Lhonak Lake in Sikkim, near midnight, “producing a 20-m excessive displacement wave”, wiping out a number of hydro energy belongings and settlements on its approach downstream.Krishna Vatsa, member of Nationwide Catastrophe Administration Authority (NDMA), stated the Nepal occasion illustrates a brand new dimension of Himalayan catastrophe danger, although the exact sequence of occasions continues to be being scientifically established. “These are cascading hazards: an ice or rock failure can change into a particles circulate, create a short lived lake after which generate a flash flood. Such occasions can develop extraordinarily quickly and should present little or no warning time downstream.”“India’s Nationwide GLOF Threat Mitigation Programme has marked 195 at-risk glacial lakes and follows 5 key priorities (evaluation, monitoring, early warning, mitigation, neighborhood consciousness). It must be sped up and scaled up instantly as a precedence for nationwide safety,” stated Syed Safi Ahsan Rizvi, an ex-NDMA member.As a response to the Sikkim catastrophe, Centre had arrange a high-level coordination committee on GLOF catastrophe danger discount. The initiative, spearheaded by PM’s principal secretary PK Mishra, was tasked to host multi-agency deliberations and surveys of such lakes and determine the high-risk ones. Govt additionally allotted Rs 150 crore for the Nationwide GLOF Threat Mitigation Programme for 4 Himalayan states having high-risk glacial lakes.
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The primary assembly of the coordination committee on DRR was held in Nov 2024, when PM’s principal secretary expressing his satisfaction on the group’s “tri-focal lens: evaluation, monitoring, and mitigation”. The committee hosted common conferences and obtained suggestions, which had been then fashioned as a part of joint technique between states and Centre. Nevertheless, not a lot is understood on observe up actions.Earlier, govt had claimed that multi-agency expeditions had been carried out to evaluate all “A-category” lakes. The groups comprised scientists and officers from NDMA, Central Water Fee, Geological Survey of India, Centre for Growth of Advance Computing, ITBP and the Military.
