Manali tragedy live: There may have been lapses, admits HP govt

12.29 am: Himachal government admits to lapses A day after the Himachal High Court took  suo motu cognisance of the Beas tragedy and ordered the state  government to file the status report by 16 June, the state government today admitted to lapses leading up to the mishap. State Rural Development Minister Anil Sharma today admitted that there may been lapses on the government’s part. Earlier, Kiran, a professor accompanying the students had said that sudden releasing of water by the dam officials had taken the students by surprise, giving them no time to get out of harm’s way. “Suddenly, in a matter of two-three minutes the water rose by 4-5 feet and washed away all the 24 students, " Kiran said. However, yesterday the  state  DGP defended dam authorities and claimed that the siren was sounded before releasing water from the dam.  “The students must not have heard it because of the noise from the river,” DGP Sanjay Kumar had said. 10.11 am: Telangana Home Minister threatens criminal action against dam and college authorities Telangana Home Minister Narasimha Reddy threatened dam and college authorities today as bodies of students killed in Manali arrived in Hyderabad. “A warning should have been given before releasing water,” Reddy said. 09.58 am: Water level of Pandoh Dam reduced to facilitate search Water level of Pandoh Dam in Manali has been reduced to intensify search for the missing bodies. Meanwhile, another body was recovered from Pandoh Dam, raising the total death toll to 6. 8.45 am: Bodies of five students flown back to Hyderabad The bodies of five engineering students of the Beas tragedy were flown back to Hyderabad this evening. About 20 students of the group also returned to Hyderabad on the same plane, PTI reported. Civil Aviation Minister Pusapati Ashok Gajapathi Raju arrived in Kullu today on an Air India plane along with some family members of the missing students. The families accompanying the Union minister stayed back in the hope that the bodies of their kin may be recovered tomorrow when the search operation resumes. Meanwhile, the Larji project authorities have claimed that they followed the protocol and all three alarms were sounded before release of the water. They said that the 55cm gate of the project was opened at 6.15 PM and the other 1.5mt gate was opened at 6.45 PM, which caused the flash flood. --End of updates for 9 June– 10.08 pm: Himachal HC seeks status report from govt Taking suo motu notice of the Beas tragedy involving Hyderabad-based engineering students, the Himachal High Court today directed the state government to file the status report by 16 June. The High Court treated the news reports in this regard as PIL and issued a notice to the state government to file the status report within a week. “Going by contents of news items, it is a sad tale that sheer fun of young students turned fatal as a consequence of utter and callous negligence of power project authorities,” Justice Tarlok Singh Chauhan said. 9.56 pm: Siren was sounded before releasing water, says HP DGP The Himachal Pradesh DGP tells CNN-IBN that the siren was sounded before releasing water from the dam. “The students must not have heard it because of the noise from the river,” DGP Sanjay Kumar said. 3.20 pm: Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh calls Manali tragedy ‘unfortunate’ Himachal Pradesh CM Virbhadra Singh said that the Manali tragedy was shocking and unfortunate, especially since the site of the mishap is a popular tourist spot and nothing like yesterday’s incident had taken place in the past. Though he said he ‘didn’t blame anyone’, he insinuated that the teachers of the college had acted irresponsibly. ANI reports that Singh said that the teachers should have stopped the students from getting too close to the water. ANI quotes Singh as saying, “I have already ordered inquiry by the divisional commissioner to investigate this matter, whether the hooter was blown or not, and what new measures could have been taken to prevent the tragedy. Any negligence found, and the government will initiate the strictest action against them,” Singh added. “I have been receiving calls from the residence of the Chief Minister of Telangana, besides other sources. One union minister and a Telangana state minister are coming here. They are welcome to come and see for themselves,” he added. 1.10 pm: “We had no time to react,” says professor accompanying students Kiran, a professor accompanying the students, said that the water was released by the Larji Dam officials so suddenly that they didn’t get time to respond. “I saw them, the students when they were standing on the boulders. Then the water was hardly one or two feet deep. Suddenly, in a matter of two-three minutes the water rose by 4-5 feet and washed away all the 24 students. The locals were saying that they tried to call us and had blown whistle, but we couldn’t hear them from where we were. An alarm would have been much more helpful,” said the professor. 1.00 pm: Telangana Home Minister leaves for Himachal Pradesh Telangana Home Minister Naini Narsimha Reddy and government officials along with a police team today left for Himachal Pradesh in the wake of 25 engineering students from the city being washed away in the Beas river in the hill state. Two teams of NDRF comprising of 45 members each have been dispatched to the mishap site to help local authorities in relief and rescue operations, according to a senior official of NDRF. Earlier, as the Home Minister reached the airport, some parents of the students tried to gherao him demanding he provide information about their kin. They alleged that the government had not responded properly to the incident despite getting information from HP about the mishap. They sought to know what measures the government had taken to locate/trace the missing students and alleged that no proper communication was provided to them about the incident. Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, after a Cabinet meeting held last night, had directed that the Home Minister along with a team of senior government officials visit the spot. From IANS 12.37 pm: Smriti Irani takes stock of situation HRD minister Smriti Irani reached Manali and took stock of the situation. Reportedly, she spoke to the locals and was apprised of the several problems faced by the locals due to the burgeoning water levels. “I have been told that a probe has been ordered. We will reach a conclusion after the probe comes to an end. As of now, we are trying to make sure that the survivors reach their home state as soon as possible. This incident was very unfortunate, I hope that I never have to come back to Himachal Pradesh in a situation like this,” said Irani. 10.57 am: Survivor search to be a tough one Though the authorities claim to have thrown themselves at the rescue operations with utmost strength, finding the bodies will be far from easy. Speaking to CNN IBN, DC Kullu, said that given the speed of the river, chances are that the bodies have been washed far away from the accident spot. “There’s no shortage of man power. We are also taking help from the locals. However, it’s difficult to say how soon the bodies will be found. In cases like these, the bodies get stuck in ravines, rocks etc. They only surface later,” he added. 10.23 am: Three more bodies recovered Another body was recovered from the Beas river, taking the body count to three. Amid the trading of allegations between officials and the survivors,all staff members of the Larji Dam have been suspended. Though the officials said that the students from Hyderabad didn’t pay heed to their warnings, the surviving students said that there was no such warning. In fact, they alleged, that more water was released into the already choppy Beas river taking them by surprise. 9.30 am: HRD minister Smriti Irani to visit site of tragedy Human Resources Development minister Smriti Irani is to visit the site of the Expressing her grave concern over the shocking incident where 24 students are believed to have been washed away in the river Beas, Irani also assured the state of Himachal Pradesh of all possible assistance from the Centre.

Irani assured the state Education Ministry, held by Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh,“of all assistance and support required from the Centre”, a statement released by the HRD ministry said.

She also spoke to the faculty of the engineering college in Hyderabad who was accompanying the traveling student group.

The principal of the college was also assured of all cooperation to tackle the tragedy. 9.oo am: Resident engineer of Larji power plant says students did not heed warning hooters. Speaking to CNN-IBN, resident engineer of the Larji power plant said they were under a compulsion to release water as electricity demand reduced and the dam was too full. (All staff members of the Larji dam were suspended pendng an enquiry). Resident engineer Mandeep Singh told CNN-IBN: “It has been confirmed by officials at the dam site that they sounded the hooters. It is definitely tragic that such an accident has happened. We request people time and again not to venture near the river.” Singh said the hooters had been sounded and local residents warned the students to get out of the river, but they did not pay heed. “For safety of the dam structure we have to release water as and when required,” Singh said. He added that though he hopes victims survive, the chances of finding survivors are “bleak”. There is a curve along the river he said, but added that the upstream river is still clearly visible. 8.30 am: Rajnath Singh tweets, says he has instructed that relief operations be carried out Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh tweeted his , “I am deeply pained over the tragic incident of engineering students getting drowned in a flash flood in Himachal Pradesh. I have instructed the authorities to dispatch a rescue team for immediate action and save precious lives trapped in the floods.” [caption id=“attachment_1501409” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. Reuters[/caption] The distance between the Larji dam and the Pandoh dam, a stretch of 15 km, is where the bodies are expected to be recovered. The Pando dam’s floodgates have been closed, but the flow of water is intense and the rocky terrain of the riverbed is hampering operations. Teams of rafters are in the river, said Rakesh Kanwal, DC of Kullu. “Chances of bodies coming up may not be immediate. Bodies stuck under rocks may surface later on.” 8.15 am: Search continues, 2 bodies recovered The search for the bodies of the 24 B tech students washed away in the Beas when authorities at the Larji Hydel power unit opened the floodgates of the project’s dam without warning continues, promising to be an arduous and painstaking project. Officials said some bodies could be stuck in ravines or under rocks, and may not surface until later. Two dozen students from Hyderabad who were on a holiday in Kullu-Manali were picnicking on the banks of the river when the river surge washed them away on Sunday evening. They are students of the Vigyan Jyothi Institute of Engineering and Technology, Bachuapalli, about 20 km from Hyderabad. Until late Sunday night, no bodies had been recovered though two bodies surfaced in the morning. These are still to be identified. The bodies were pulled out from the vicinity of the Pandoh dam.