Expert team to probe Tharali disaster, says Uttarakhand CM Dhami

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has directed that a team of experts be sent to Tharali in Chamoli district to study the causes of the disaster that struck the village on August 22.

State Disaster Management and Rehabilitation Secretary Vinod Kumar Suman said Dhami stressed the need for a detailed survey of the incident in Tharali, similar to the one carried out in Dharali, Uttarkashi, to find out why such disasters are recurring in the Himalayan region and how massive debris flows down with the water.

Suman said experts from the Geological Survey of India, Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, National Institute of Hydrology, Uttarakhand Landslide Reduction and Management Center, Central Water Commission, and Irrigation Department of the state will soon visit Tharali.

Additional Secretary and Additional Chief Executive Officer-Administration, Anand Swaroop, has issued letters to all these institutions, asking each to nominate one expert to report immediately to the Chamoli District Magistrate.

The experts will study the causes of floods and landslides in the Tehsil office in Radibag of Nagar Panchayat Tharali, the residential complex of the Tehsil, Kotdeep, Tharali market, and Chapdon and Sangwada, and will suggest measures for their mitigation.

Tharali was lashed by heavy rains on the midnight of August 22, leading to the flooding of the Toonri Gad raindrain with debris getting spread over a large area.

A girl died in the incident, while an elderly man remains missing. Several houses and shops were filled with debris, the residence of the SDM was damaged, and multiple vehicles were also buried under the sludge.