2014 Beas River Tragedy

2014 Beas River Tragedy

Time	18:30 IST
Date	8 June 2014
Location	Beas River, Mandi district, Himachal Pradesh, India
Casualties
25 dead

2014 Beas River disaster refers to the 8 June 2014 drowning of 24 (6 female and 18 male) 2nd year engineering students plus one tour operator from V.N.R. Vignana Jyothi Institute of Engineering and Technology of Hyderabad at the Beas River in Himachal Pradesh. The accident took place in Thalout area (Shalanala Village) of Mandi district, due to sudden surge of river water released upstream from Larji hydro electric project.

Incident

48 students and 3 faculty/staff members of V.N.R. Vignana Jyothi Institute of Engineering and Technology (Hyderabad) were on an Educational/Industrial Tour, passing from Shimla to Manali, about 200 kilometres (130 miles) from Himachal Pradesh capital Shimla. Some of them were getting themselves photographed on the banks of the Beas river on the Mandi-Manali National Highway NH-21, when they were washed away as the water flow in the river suddenly increased. The surge of water occurred when the Larji hydroelectric power project opened its floodgates, sending tons of water downstream.

Footage surfaced on the internet two days after the incident which showed how the victims were caught unawares before the river carried them away. The video was shot by Bihari Lal, ( who was present about 100 metres above the river bed atop a hilly area where a wedding was being held ), and eventually uploaded to YouTube.

Unsung Heroes

Sensing the danger Kiran Kumar Muppidi and Asish Mantha selflessly started helping the other students to reach the river bank. It has been reported by the surviving students that Kiran Kumar Muppidi had saved 5 fellow students before he slipped away. Devasish Bose was seen fighting hard to save one of the fellow students before he went missing. According to first hand witness the unofficial tour guide had jumped into the current to save some students.

Rescue

Authorities deployed over 550 rescue team members including divers from NDRF, Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), and Indo-Tibetan Border Police ITBP, Indian Army, Indian Navy, the Paramilitary, the local firemen and policemen, and a private team of swimmers and divers trained by the Additional DGP of Police (Sports) in Telangana, Mr. Rajeev Trivedi. UAV, multi-beam sonar, and lidar were also deployed to trace missing students along the 15 km stretch from Larji Dam to Pandoh Dam. Beginning 16 June, the parents of the students who were camping in Himachal Pradesh started leaving for their native places.

The bodies of all 24 students and the tour guide have been recovered.

Government response

Probe

A case has been registered against officials of the Larji Hydroelectric Project and College for causing the death of 24 engineering students by negligence. The case was registered after eyewitnesses claimed that the hooter was not sounded before increasing water flow into the river.

Initial probe suggested that Larji power project was asked to reduce generation on the day of the tragedy but plant officials shut it down. As a result of this, the water that had built up in its reservoir had to be released, leading to the sudden surge in the Beas river. It has been reported by some news agencies that the Larji hydroelectric power project has been involved with local sand mafia and this what has made the officials open the gates without proper control.

Compensation

The Himachal High Court awarded a compensation of 20 Lakh rupees to parents of students which will be shared in the ratio 60:30:10 by the Electricity Board, the College & the State of Himachal Pradesh.