The Lahaul-Spiti local administration on Tuesday sounded a high-alert to residents of the areas downstream from the two big artificial lakes in the mountains of the tribal district’s Billing Nallah. Frequent landslides due to untimely snowfall have resulted in a blockade in the rivulet at Billing, about 400 km from the capital town.
While similar landslides had occurred in 1993 and 2001, the river discharge had soon become normalised and there was no loss to life and property, said Lahaul-Spiti deputy Commissioner Bir Singh Thakur. But the sudden formation of a huge waterbody could not be taken lightly at any time, he added.
Billing Nallah has a normal discharge of about three cusecs of water from its constant source, Sonam Glacier. The mudslides were triggered into the rivulet after the snowfall on Sunday in an area of about 3 km. The snow is expected to melt in the coming days, burst the lake and lead to water discharge downhill. Billing Nallah also houses a 400-KW state-owned HIMURJA hydel project. The administration has barricaded vehicular traffic at the 13,050-foot-long Rohtang Pass after the snowfall that took place last weekend. Snow-clearing operations were hampered on the Kunzum Pass from the Kaza side following the fresh snowfall, said officials.
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