CHAPTER- 3: FACTORS WHICH AGGRAVATED THE DISASTER OF JUNE 2013
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Natural Disaster in Uttarakhand, June 2013 Response, Relief Restoration of the Damaged Infrastructure of Immediate Nature
3.1.1 Monitoring of potential threat posed by the impact of climatic changes upon the Glaciers
The higher reaches of the State of Uttarakhand fall in the heavy snow zone which is susceptible to snowice related disasters. Concerned with the frequent media and scientiic reports on the rapid
receding of Himalayan glaciers and the likely consequences of such developments on the State of Uttarakhand, the Government of Uttarakhand constituted June 2006 an Expert Committee on
Glaciers for a fresh appraisal of the hazard potential of glaciers and to suggest remedial measures. The Expert Committee submitted its report in October 2007. The Committee had made the
following recommendations:-
A Short term recommendations:
• The available glacier inventory to be super-imposed on the habitat map of Uttarakhand to indentify most glacial hazard prone regions requiring immediate redressal.
• Database on glacier recession, hydrological and climatological data to be prepared. • The supra-glacial lakes around Kedar Ganga and Kedar Bamak in the Bhagirathi Valley
should be monitored, together with stream discharge. • Generation of guidelines and public awareness material for glacier related hazards.
• Restriction on tourists accessing the snouts of most vulnerable glaciers like Gaumukh of the Gangotri glacier and the Satopanth Glacier.
• A mechanism may be worked out to bring out a glacier bulletin to be propagated through audiovideo media.
B Long term recommendations:
• Preparation of glacier and glacial lake inventory. • Snow cover mapping and assessment along with the pattern of maximum snow cover during
winter. • Strengthening of monitoring system.
• Risk assessment to understand the impact of glaciers on safety of dams, reservoirs and power
projects. • Integrating all the information generated for Himalayan glaciers under Geographical
Information System environment. Audit of datainformation showed that the GoU did not take any remedial measures as suggested
by the Committee. In the exit conference and subsequent replies, the Government stated that in
CHAPTER- 3: FACTORS WHICH AGGRAVATED THE DISASTER OF JUNE 2013
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pursuance of the recommendations of the said Committee, the number of persons visiting Gaumukh is being regulated. The reply of the Government is not acceptable, since the regulation of human
intervention in Gaumukh is just one of the short term recommendations of the Committee which has been considered by the Government. Action on the remaining 10 recommendations made by the said
Committee is yet to be taken.
3.1.2 Slope instability and Stabilisation measures
