A temporary lake created on the right bank of the Bhagirathi by the recent cloudburst in Uttarkashi’s Dharali has traumatised the residents of neighbouring Harsil, who fear being washed away every time the water body starts overflowing after rain.

A flash flood set off by the cloudburst in the Kheer Ganga stream on August 5 had demolished nearly half of Dharali — the key stopover en route to Gangotri — and Harsil, where an army camp bore the brunt of the devastation. Nine army personnel were reported missing from the camp.

The cloudburst led to the formation of a lake at Tel Gad in Harsil.

Uttarakhand chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami had said that the lake would be drained out to prevent further destruction in case of flooding in the area. However, Tel Gad residents said they were living in constant fear because the teams engaged in manual puncturing of the lake had so far remained unsuccessful.

“The meteorological department has warned against heavy rainfall and flooding in Uttarkashi in the next few days. Tel Gad will be in great danger if it happens because of the presence of the lake,” said Rakesh Pandey, a resident.

He said the NDRF had tried to deploy an earthmover, but the sloping terrain hindered its movement. “Finally, the government deployed some labourers who tried to dig a 20-metre channel to facilitate the outflow of the lake water into the Bhagirathi. But it didn’t have any significant impact as the water level in the lake started rising on Sunday,” Pandey said.

He said another flash flood would sweep away residents and wipe out a police outpost, several cottages, a guest house and an apple orchard.

Some villagers claimed that most of the constructions were illegal.

“The cottages, buildings and apple orchards near the catchment area of the Bhagirathi have been developed illegally after destroying trees and parts of the hill, which used to arrest the speed of floodwater,” Hemant Kumar, a priest, said. “We call them state-sponsored encroachers. This lake can wash away everything in its path here,” he added.

Vinay Shankar Pandey, divisional commissioner of Garhwal, said teams, including one from the Jal Vidyut Nigam Limited, were trying to manually puncture the
lake to facilitate outflow of water in a phased and controlled manner to prevent flooding downstream.

“They have succeeded to some extent,” he said.

The local administration said several labourers refused to work after seeing
the location.

A survey done by the State Mental Health Institute after the flash floods in Harsil and Dharali has found that fear of another deluge was keeping the residents awake at night.

“We visited the areas and treated many people. The memory of August 5 is still raw, and they fear its recurrence,” Dr Rohit Godwal, who was part of the team that camped in the affected area, said.