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Dhauliganga River and Uttarakhand Floods

2021 FEB 10

Preliminary   > Geography   >   Climatology   >   Avalanches & Landslides

Why in news?

  • A glacial burst in Uttarakhand took a heavy toll on the National Thermal Power Corporation's under-construction Tapovan Vishnugad Hydropower plant project in Chamoli district as nearly 150 of its workers went missing and its main dam washed away.
  • Over 22 workers of Rishiganga hydro power projects (another power project) have gone missing.

How did the disaster happen?

  • The flooding is believed to have caused when a portion of the Nanda Devi glacier broke off early on 7 February, releasing the water trapped behind the ice in a glacial lake outburst flood.
  • This lead to leading to flooding in the Chamoli district, most notably in the Rishiganga river, the Dhauliganga river, and in turn the Alaknanda—the major headstream of the Ganges.

About Dhauliganga river:

  • Dhauliganga is a left tributary of the Alaknanda, the left headwater of the Ganges, in the Himalayas in the Indian state of Uttarakhand.
  • The river Ganges begins at the confluence of the Bhagirathi and Alaknanda rivers.
  • Dhauliganga arises on the Raikana glacier at an altitude of 4700 m.
  • It flows mainly in a southerly direction through the Chamoli district and turns west for the last 20 km.
  • At Reni, Dhauliganga takes the Rishiganga river from the left.
  •  Just before the estuary is the small town of Jyotirmath on the river bank.
  • Dhauliganga finally flows into the Alaknanda at Vishnuprayag. It has a length of 82 km.

Tapovan Vishnugad Hydropower Plant

  • It is a 520 MW run-of-river hydroelectric project being constructed on Dhauliganga River
  • It is located in Chamoli District of Uttarakhand.
  • The plant was expected to generate over 2.5k GWh of electricity annually.
  • Tapovan Vishnugad is NTPC's second hydro power project since its foray into the hydropower sector.

PRELIMS QUESTION

Consider the following pairs of Rivers and the Glaciers of origin:
1.Bhagirathi    : Gangotri
2.Alakananda    : Satopanth
3.Yamuna    : Zemu
Which of the pairs given above is/are correctly matched?
(a)2 only
(b)1 and 3 only
(c)1 and 2 only
(d)1,2 and 3

Answer to Prelims Question