ISRO to conduct survey at Gaumukh on every quarter

DAINIK NATION BUREAU

A division bench of the high court has directed the Dehradun-based Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology and ISRO to inspect the Gaumukh glacier every three month to find out whether a lake is developing close to the glacier and present the first report to the court by August 31.

The division bench of Chief Justice KM Joseph and Justice Sharad Sharma gave these directions while hearing a PIL filed by a Delhi resident, who had claimed that a lake had formed close to Gaumukh which could pose problems.

The petitioner had claimed that a lake covering an area of nearly 1.5 sq km has developed beside a huge mound of debris, measuring 30 metres in height and 250 metres in width close to Gaumukh which might cause a Kedarnath-like tragedy in future.

After investigations, the court has also called for the scientific removal of the temporary lake in case it existed.
Significantly, a team of scientists had claimed that a lake had started forming in Gaumukh after the 2013 floods. The team led by a senior scientist of WIGH PS Negi had visited Gaumukh in 2017. The petitioner also claimed that the government was not taking the matter seriously and was relying on an aerial survey to debunk the claims of formation of a lake.THE TRIBUNE