NTPC halts operations in Tapovan after Chamoli cloud burst in Uttarakhand

• A cloudburst was reported in the Binsar hill area of Chamoli district on May

• The calamity caused major destruction in the market area as 25 shops and 31 houses were buried under debris

New Delhi: Power behemoth NTPC Limited has halted operations at its projects in the Tapovan area of Uttarakhand after water level in the Rishiganga River rose due to a cloud burst in the Chamoli district. Chamoli District Magistrate Swati Bhadoria was quoted as saying, "At around 8 pm today, the water level had risen in Tapovan area's Rishiganga river due to which officials halted operations of ongoing NTPC project and villagers residing nearby were cautioned to stay out of the water."

Cloudburst in Binsar caused major destruction in hill area

A cloudburst was reported in the Binsar hill area of Chamoli district on May 4. The calamity caused major destruction in the market area as 25 shops and 31 houses were buried under debris. No casualties have been reported so far and the situation is now said to be under control.

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Uttarakhand Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat said in a tweet, "The state government will ensure proper treatment of the injured and complete arrangement of food and shelter for the homeless. We are assessing the loss and will provide permissible assistance to the affected people at the earliest."

The backdrop

In February, a glacier burst in Raini village above Rishiganga river in Uttarakhand caused a flash flood which severely damaged NTPC's under-construction Tapovan Vishnugad hydropower project and its Pipal Koti project. The flash flood erupted when a portion of Nanda Devi glacier broke off in Tapovan area of Joshimath in Uttarakhand's Chamoli district and damaged the Rishiganga dam on Alaknanda river. 

Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat informed that the District Magistrate has directed officials to provide immediate relief to the affected people.

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