New Delhi: The Central Water Commission (CWC) has decided to monitor all the existing and the under-construction dams vulnerable to glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs). This has been decided in the wake of the Teesta-III hydroelectric dam collapse in October 2023, a PIB press release stated.
The CWC has decided to monitor 902 glacial lakes and bodies of water including 477 glacial lakes and bodies of water having more than 50 hectares of water spread area every year.
The monitoring of these lakes will help in identifying the ones that have expanded substantially during the month, which can be the cause of major disasters. The monthly monitoring reports of the glacier lakes can be accessed on the CWC website.
A high-risk committee of disasters risk reduction under the NDMA has also been formed to send an expedition to directly assess the glacial lakes and prepare a comprehensive mitigation strategy for the state governments. This committee has been headed by the Union Home Minister.
To deal with the threat of GLOF, the state government of Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh have also approved a project worth Rs 150 crore for risk mitigation measures. This project will help in the early warning system and other structural and non-structural measures.
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