sachin34357 Posted June 8, 2014 Posted June 8, 2014 On an excursion trip to Himachal Pradesh, 24 students from Hyderabad are feared to have been washed away by the Beas on Sunday after a hydropower plant allegedly discharged water into the river without any warning, triggering protests by local residents. The incident took place in Thalaut on Manali-Kiratpur Highway, 40km from district headquarters Mandi. A massive search operation was launched to track the students, but there was no success due to darkness. Six girls are among the missing, many of whom are in their late teens. It is learnt that altogether 38 students from VNR Vignana Jyothi Institute of Engineering and Technology, Hyderabad, were on the riverbank when the water level rose after discharge from a reservoir of the 126 MW Larji hydel power project around 2km away. "The students had stopped to take photographs on the edge of the Beas at 7.30pm when water released from a dam washed them downstream," Himachal Pradesh transport minister GS Bali said. The students were travelling to the resort town of Manali further north. Enraged residents of Thalaut and surrounding areas blocked the national highway after the incident, accusing the hydropower project authority of releasing the water without warning. Rescue workers using torches in the dark were attempting to find the students in Kullu Valley, some 200km north of state capital Shimla, Bali said. The services of divers have been requisitioned for rescue efforts. People living along the two sides of the riverbank downstream of the dam were alerted to inform the police about any person sighted by them. The incident sent shock waves, and parents and friends of the missing students made frantic calls to know about their whereabouts. As time elapsed and rescue efforts continued without success, fears rose that some of the students might have drowned. "I am deeply pained over the tragic incident of engineering students getting drowned in a flash flood in Himachal Pradesh," home minister Rajnath Singh said on his official Twitter account. "I have instructed the authorities to despatch a rescue team for immediate action and save precious lives trapped in the floods," he said in a tweet. A local official blamed the surge of water on the hydroelectric power plant for the tragedy. "The water was released by the Larji power project dam," AFP quoted senior state official Rakesh Kanwar as saying. The Kullu Valley is home to raging rivers, dense forests and steep gorges. Himachal Pradesh and other Himalayan states, including neighbouring Uttarakhand, are home to a string of hydroelectric projects as India rushes to expand power generation to meet the rising demand. Governments are attempting to harness the power of rivers despite the risk of environmental damage to diversify away from costly and polluting coal and gas plants to meet the country's electricity shortage. http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/24-students-from-hyderabad-feared-drowned-in-himachal-after-sudden-release-of-dam-water/article1-1227366.aspx
sachin34357 Posted June 8, 2014 Author Posted June 8, 2014 hydropower plant allegedly discharged water into the river without any warning They should be prosecuted for manslaughter.
Stuge Posted June 8, 2014 Posted June 8, 2014 Those in-charge should be held responsible .. this is very serious IMO.
coffee_rules Posted June 9, 2014 Posted June 9, 2014 This happens a lot of times in India. Recently there was a family that was washed out from a waterfall due to flash floods from dam release. I would carefully venture into the waters especially those that are fed by a dam. Sad, RIP.
hhunaeh Posted June 9, 2014 Posted June 9, 2014 What kind of warning system do indian dams have? How far downstream is the warning provided?..Questions that need answering.
Desi Cartman Posted June 9, 2014 Posted June 9, 2014 Not saying its true for this incident but Indians usually do not follow any warning even when highlighted in Yellow and Red. This is really sad
kubrickian Posted June 10, 2014 Posted June 10, 2014 The authorities who released the water should take the blame for not giving the precautions. Some of the students who survived said later that no warning was given to them, they asked the locals and they said it was safe. A loud horn should be sounded to indicate that the dam is about to be discharged. We don't have those precautions in India. RIP to all the victims.
asterix Posted June 10, 2014 Posted June 10, 2014 First of all there should be warning signs along the banks. There should be clear information about warning sirens and what actions to be taken in case of warning. Warning sirens shouldn't be activated after the release of water...
rkt.india Posted June 11, 2014 Posted June 11, 2014 What kind of warning system do indian dams have? How far downstream is the warning provided?..Questions that need answering. Loud Sirens, nothing else. Those guys were from Hyderabad and might have not known about this water release thing there. It is their mistake. You do not venture out in rivers connected with dams like this. Sometimes, even if you get the siren, you do not get enough time to come out because these rivers can be huge.
rkt.india Posted June 11, 2014 Posted June 11, 2014 A loud horn should be sounded to indicate that the dam is about to be discharged. We don't have those precautions in India. RIP to all the victims. We do have. A loud siren is always played before releasing water. There might be a human error there.
asterix Posted June 11, 2014 Posted June 11, 2014 What about the local tour operators who provided the buses. Surely the bus drivers should've warned the kids not to venture in the water...
rkt.india Posted June 11, 2014 Posted June 11, 2014 What about the local tour operators who provided the buses. Surely the bus drivers should've warned the kids not to venture in the water... Do you think kids listen? one of my childhood friend from our colony got drowned in a local river despite knowing all these things.
CSK Fan Posted June 11, 2014 Posted June 11, 2014 When I was in Ranchi, we used to go to dangerous waterfalls. Every year many kids used to lose their lives. They would ignore all precautions and warnings
asterix Posted June 11, 2014 Posted June 11, 2014 ^ That was a risky place to go... That's a nono... RIP...
hhunaeh Posted June 11, 2014 Posted June 11, 2014 standing there and clicking photos and selfies. What a bloody waste. They are dead and now the survivors have to attend class thinking about their dead classmates.
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