Flood scare as glaciers melt in Himachal Pradesh

Six to seven large glacial lakes have formed near Neelkanth Lake in Lahaul and Spiti district of Himachal Pradesh and are posing a serious threat to the district besides parts of Jammu and Kashmir and areas in Pakistan located on the banks of Chenab river.

Official sources told Mail Today that a team of state government officials, headed by Lahaul and Spiti MLA Ravi Thakur, visited the spot on Saturday and found that fast melting glaciers have formed around eight glacial lakes on the trek leading to Neelkanth lake at 16,020.3 ft. The officials have warned that a breach in the lakes could flood the tributaries of Chenab.

A source said the inspection team was " stunned" to see the glacial lakes formed along the 16 km long trek leading to Neelkanth lake.

"The lakes ( six to seven of them), which were small when I visited earlier, have accumulated much more water now. Some of the lakes are between 1.5 to 2 km long and pose a serious threat," MLA Lahaul and Spiti and vice chairman of National Commission for Scheduled Tribes Ravi Thakur told Mail Today.Thakur said he will raise the matter with the state government and request them to send a team of geologists to estimate the threat. " I have requested the state government to send a team of experts to estimate the extent and size of the flood threat so that we can raise an alarm. The threat may not be immediate but we cannot downplay it," the MLA added.

Thakur said Lahaul and Spiti district has Asia's second largest glacier known as Sigri and some of the glacial lakes like the Sissu has already started flooding the catchment areas.

Last month, the valley faced a serious flood threat when a 250 metre lake was created by landslides near Keylong town in Lahaul after melting glaciers flooded the Billing nallah.