Sunday, 02 March 2025 | Gajendra Singh Negi | DEHRADUN
The avalanche near Mana village in Chamoli district on February 28 which claimed lives of four labourers has again highlighted the issue of road construction and other human activities in the sensitive upper Himalayan regions. The experts are of the view that the agencies involved in construction activities should follow some safety protocols while operating in such areas.
Following heavy snowfall of more than 30 hours an avalanche engulfed the camping site of the labourers near Mana on Friday. These labourers were deployed by the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) for broadening of the road from Mana to Mana Pass. Noted glaciologist and former scientist at Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, DP Dobhal told The Pioneer that the area where BRO had set up the camp of the labourers was located in the avalanche prone area. He said that the camp of the labourers should have been shifted to a safe location in the winter season when chances of avalanches are high. Dobhal added that the India Meteorological Department (IMD) had given a warning of heavy snowfall in Chamoli district and the authorities should have taken this warning seriously.
Affirming Dobhal’s view, professor at Veer Chandra Singh Garhwali University of Horticulture and Forestry, SP Sati said that the upper reaches of Alaknanda valley are known for avalanches. He said that camp site selection is very important for working in the avalanche prone areas. “A similar avalanche in the Girthi- a tributary of Alaknanda- valley took lives of some labourers in March 2021 and there also the camping site selection was wrong,’’ he said.
The experts are also stressing on the need for an extensive survey of all the areas located in high altitudes for identifying the avalanche prone areas. Dobhal said that the areas above an altitude of 3,500 metres are covered permanently with ice and the snowfall usually occurs in the areas above 2,500 metres. He said that the heavy snowfall coupled with high slopes is a recipe for an avalanche which is downward motion of snow. “Earlier the snowfall used to occur in many spells from October to December and due to cold weather this snow used to be stable. In the changed conditions the snowfall in the months of February and March has high water content which triggers avalanches,’’ he said.
