-The Hindu The Uttarakhand government continues to ignore evidence that hydropower projects in the fragile region exacerbate disasters In 2018, while travelling through the villages near the India-China border in Niti Valley in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli district, I stopped at Reni village, the birthplace of the iconic Chipko movement. The way to Reni was dotted with hydropower projects that were marred by controversy. The villagers complained about the rampant flouting of norms by...

-The Telegraph Weather scientists, however, said heavy snow had been neither forecast nor observed in Chamoli district on Friday or Saturday An avalanche triggered by snowfall — and not glacial ice sundering — was the likely cause of Sunday’s devastation in Uttarakhand, scientists said on Monday using satellite imagery. Weather scientists, however, said heavy snow had been neither forecast nor observed in Chamoli district on Friday or Saturday. “A preliminary analysis suggests that heavy...

-CounterCurrents.org The tragedy in Uttarakhand has again highlighted the extreme vulnerability of dam workers who toil often in very hazardous conditions in very remote parts of the country, away from public gaze. In particular the hazards faced by workers are very serious at several dam construction locations in the Himalayan region. While better safety conditions for dam workers are needed everywhere, this need is particularly acute in the Himalayan region. In recent...

-The Hindu Efforts on to save 35 labourers in NTPC dam tunnel. Dehradun/ Joshimath: The operation to rescue about 35 workers trapped inside a 2.5 km NTPC hydel project tunnel in the Chamoli district of Uttarakhand continued on Tuesday, while the death toll in the aftermath of what Union Home Minister Amit Shah, described in Parliament as a snow avalanche, rose to 32. More than 197 people, including the trapped labourers, are...

-TheThirdPole.net As the world warms and glaciers retreat faster, the need is to brace for more disasters and minimise impacts by reviewing ill-planned dams and roads Under the weight of a suspected avalanche, a massive chunk of ice and frozen mud broke away from a glacier in the high Himalayas and fell into a lake that had formed at its snout due to climate change. The moraine around the lake collapsed and...