New Delhi, Feb. 4: A river changed its course, a lake was formed and a mountain cracked in the wake of the January 19 earthquake that hit the Kinnaur and Lahaul-Spiti districts of Himachal Pradesh.
Besides, half a dozen villages along an elliptical line extending to 40 km. were flattened.
The change in the course of ‘Para Chu’ (Chu means river) particularly is regarded as significant, indicative of the severity of the earthquake placed at 7.5 on the Richter Scale.
The lake on Para Chu has disappeared. The dam, made up of boulders and mud that slid down the mountain after the earthquake, had created the lake. After six days, the impounded waters of the temporary lake broke through naturally. The escaping waters have taken a different course from the old river bed, according to a Roorkee Seismologist who has carried out the first scientific survey of the quake-hit area.
The crack of a Himalayan mountain, that can be seen from the border village of Kaurik, is stated by the Seismologist, Mr. Sudarshan Singh, to be four km. long, over three metres deep and 60 to 90 cm. wide.
Mr. Singh was accompanied by two geologists, Dr. A.K. Jain and Mr. P. Sinha.
Earlier Chandigarh reports said the Bhakra management Board was sending its experts to study the effects of geological deformations caused by the quake on Sutlej river which feeds the Bhakra Lake.
Published – February 05, 2025 02:30 am IST