Is plutonium device behind Uttarakhand glacier burst? Myths and rumors afloat over Tapovan tragedy

Villagers have expressed concerns that the disaster might have been caused by a radioactive device that lay buried somewhere in the Nanda Devi mountain. They noticed a pungent smell in the air muck and rubble rolled down from the Nanda Devi mountain into the Rishiganga river when flash floods occurred in the area.

Credit: IANS

Days after the flash floods that occurred in Uttarakhand causing severe destruction to lives and property, people of Raini village in the Tapovan area of Chamoli district have expressed concerns that the disaster might have been caused by a radioactive device that lay buried somewhere in the Nanda Devi mountain. 

The plutonium radioactive device is said to be lost during a secret expedition in 1965, in which the Intelligence Bureau of India joined hands with the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) of the United States to install a nuclear-powered surveillance device on the summit of the mountain.  

It was reportedly aimed at keeping tabs on Chinese activities. However, the mission was abandoned midway after a blizzard hit the area and the equipment was lost. 

What did villagers say? 

The villagers have said that they noticed a pungent smell in the air muck and rubble rolled down from the Nanda Devi mountain into the Rishiganga river when flash floods occurred in the area. 

One of the villagers told an English daily that the smell was so intense that they were unable to breathe for some time and that it has triggered concerns in their village that the long-lost radioactive device about which their elders used to tell them may be behind the incident. 

Another villager named Prem Singh Rana said that the villagers are living in the fear that one day they might also get swept away in such a deluge. He called for an investigation by the government to find out the status of the radioactive device. 

What did the leader of the 1965 expedition say? 

Retired Captain MS Kohli who led the 1965 expedition has refuted claims of any link between the radioactive device and the recent disaster. He said that it was very unlikely that the device would heat up or blow on its own. 

Captain MS Kohli (retired) has said that the equipment, including the nuclear device, is "very unlikely to emanate heat or blow up" on its own. 

"The device is most likely trapped among the glaciers. Since it is immobile, it must be lying in a dormant state. We spent three years trying to trace it. There is no way it can trigger any untoward incident as the instrument needs other components, too, to be fully operational," Kohli was quoted as saying. 

Kohli asserted that it was inappropriate to link the two events.