Himalaya flood disaster hits Delhi water supply

himalaya flood disaster hits delhi water supply
Kindly Share This Story
India

Rescue team members work during a relief operation at a destroyed bridge site after a flash flood swept down a mountain valley destroying dams and bridges, in Raini village in the northern state of Uttarakhand, India, February 11, 2021. REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis

Fallout from a devastating flash flood in a remote north Indian valley hit the capital New Delhi more than 500 kilometres downstream on Monday when water supplies were cut to tens of thousands of residents.

Authorities blamed the high quantities of mud and debris from the February 7 deluge, which left more than 50 dead and 150 missing, for the shortages.

READ MORE:  France threatens veto as 'difficult' Brexit talks drag on

The Rishiganga valley in Uttarakhand state is 530 kilometres (330 miles) upstream to the northeast of Delhi but its water is a key supplier for the capital.

Authorities would not say how long taps would be shut down.

The flood swept through the valley devastating a power complex and destroying roads and bridges.

Rescuers are just starting to pull out bodies from a tunnel engulfed by mud and debris where more than 30 workers were believed to be trapped.

The flood is believed to have been triggered by a chunk of glacier sliding down a mountainside or a glacial lake breaching its banks.

READ MORE:  WHO gives green light to AstraZeneca Covid-19 jabs

Water from the valley flows into the Ganges and from there to Delhi.

Raghav Chadha, the vice-chairperson of Delhi’s water board, urged residents to use water “judiciously” as two of the city’s main water treatment plants were unable to operate at full capacity due to the dirty raw water.

He said teams were “deployed round the clock” cleaning filters and “flushing high ammonia raw water”.

Delhi, which has a population of over 20 million, faces water shortages every summer.

Sixty percent of the water supplied in Delhi comes from the Yamuna river and about 34 percent from the Ganges. Both have faced severe pollution problems in recent years.



By Famous Reporters

29 Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Posts

No widgets found. Go to Widget page and add the widget in Offcanvas Sidebar Widget Area.