As far as i have heard. Bridges washed includes
Karcham and choling. So entry to Rekong Peo, Kalpa and
interior kinnaur through NH-22 is blocked.
While entry to sangla valley through private bridge of
Jai Prakash industries is open (as main bridge is
washed away) small vehicles only. So tourists would
have to re think the plans for foray in kinnaur. Those
visting Sangla can do so. News story follows.

http://www.ndtv.com/topstories/showtopstory.asp?slug=Areas+along+Sutlej+in+HP+on\
+high+alert&id=17176
NDTV Correspondent

Sunday, June 26, 2005 (New Delhi):

A high alert has been sounded in areas along the
Sutlej river valley in Himachal Pradesh following a
sudden rise in the level of the Parechu.

The water level of Parechu, a tributary of Satluj
which rose by 40 to 50 feet has been attributed to the
melting of glaciers.

Local officials say at least two upstream bridges have
been washed away and traffic was disrupted on the
Hindustan-Tibet highway, which serves as a crucial
road link to the remote border areas.

According to latest reports, water has reportedly
entered Rampur - a major town on the banks of the
Sutlej.

"The waters entered around 5 pm. It rose by 10-12 feet
but they later started receding," said D K Rattam,
SDM, Rampur.

Precautionary measure

About 5,000 people from various parts of the valley
have been evacuated. The people living along the banks
of Sutlej were shifted to safer places as a
precautionary measure.

Adding to the concern is the danger posed by the lake
formed by landslides on the Parechu in Tibet. Many
fear that this lake could burst causing a flash flood.

Officials think that the sudden rise in the Parechu
could be because this lake is leaking or because of
rapidly melting snow.

High-level meeting

In a bid to assess the situation, the Centre held an
emergency meeting today.

"Nearly 5,000 people from three villages along the
200-km stretch of Sutlej river have been evacuated to
safer places as a precautionary measure," Home
Secretary V K Duggal told reporters.

The hour-long emergency meeting was chaired by Cabinet
Secretary B K Chaturvedi in which secretaries of all
ministries and army and para-military forces were
present.

Duggal said MI-7 and MI-8 helicopters have been asked
to be ready at Chandigarh airbase to meet any
eventuality.

Air Force on standby

The high alert has been sounded in the areas of
Kinnaur, Rampur, Mandi and Bilaspur. The highway
leading to Kinnaur has been closed to traffic.

Meanwhile, IAF choppers carried out a recce operation
to assess the flood situation in Himachal Pradesh.

"The Air Force is standing by to help the state
government in evacuation and rescue and relief
operations," Airforce spokesman Squadron Leader Mahesh
Upasani said.

"We have all the arrangements ready. All the officials
know about this and people have been cautioned," said
Vidhya Stokes, Power Minister, Himachal Pradesh.

Meanwhile, the Chinese Ambassador to India has assured
India a regular exchange of information on the
situation of the artificial lake formed on the Parechu
river in Tibet just before it enters India.

Nathpa power project

The Nathpa-Jhakri project Authority, which shut down
its power station yesterday due to heavy silting,
opened the gates of the dam to flush out water.

According to reports, the discharge of water in Satluj
at Nathpa was 1600 cumex (Cubic metres per sec)
resulting in silt content to 8000 ppm (parts per
million), which was 3000 ppm above the maximum
permissible limit.

On its part, the government says the Nathpa-Jhakri
power project which supplies the northern grid is
unaffected and is shut for routine maintenance.

The alert in the Sutlej valley is likely to continue
for the next few days. But with the monsoon hitting
Himachal Pradesh today the situation is likely to
remain tense. (With PTI inputs)



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