DEHRADUN: A major tragedy was averted at the iconic Tehri Lake on Saturday after sudden high velocity winds damaged several floating huts anchored near the Dobra Chanthi bridge, leaving 28 tourists stranded on the lake and triggering fears of a repeat of recent maritime accidents elsewhere in the country.
The chaos began when an unexpected squall hit the region, violently tossing the floating structures. Alarmed by the structural damage and rising waves, the tourists were left trapped as the huts began to drift.
Upon receiving an urgent distress call from the District Disaster Control Room, a specialised team from the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) stationed at Koti Colony was immediately mobilised. Led by Sub Inspector Narendra Rana, the rescue team navigated the turbulent waters to reach the stranded tourists.
"In this moment of crisis, our team acted swiftly, turning into guardian angels for the trapped individuals," said Arpan Yaduvanshi, Commandant, SDRF. "Every single tourist was safely evacuated, ensuring no lives were lost."
Using a coordinated rescue operation involving boats from the local tourism department, the SDRF successfully brought all 28 stranded individuals safely to the Koti Colony shore.
The incident has drawn immediate comparisons to a tragic cruise accident that occurred recently at Madhya Pradesh’s Bargi Dam, where the lack of an immediate response reportedly led to significant loss of life.
While local authorities in Uttarakhand clarified that there were no casualties in the Tehri incident, the event has reignited debate over safety protocols for water based tourism during unpredictable mountain weather.
Compounding the region’s weather woes, heavy rainfall lashed the Bhilangana block of the district on Saturday. In the frontier village of Genwali, a sudden cloudburst caused a local stream to overflow, flooding agricultural fields and creating flood like conditions.
As monsoon and pre monsoon weather patterns become increasingly erratic in the Himalayan foothills, the Tehri district administration is now expected to review safety standards for all water based commercial activities to prevent future calamities.