Secretary DMRRR Amit holds a meeting with NDMA, GSI on alarming trigger of Hot Springs at Chumathang-Nyoma in Ladakh

Leh, Dec. 12: Amit Sharma, Secretary DMRRR, UT of Ladakh today called-in for an important meeting regarding unprecedented triggering, causing hot spring waters towards sudden surge upto alarming heights in Chumathang area of Nyoma Sub-Division in Leh district wherein senior teams of National Disaster Management Agency, Geological Survey of India, Central Ground Water Board, National Institute of Hydrology, Western Himalayan Regional Centre and Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology participated.

A threadbare brainstorming was held on the issue of sudden surge in the water levels of Chumathang, Nyoma hot springs wherein the tone of discussion was set by Amit Sharma, Secretary Disaster Management, Relief and Rehabilitation Ladakh who shared the factual position about same wherein he talked about sudden rise in hot spring levels upto 2-3 metres in about last ten days of November this year which otherwise remains normally upto average one foot level only, throughout the year.

Afterwards, all the participating teams of different departments/bodies shared their respective viewpoints about this unusual geological phenomenon happening at Chumathang, Nyoma in Ladakh while sharing similar experiences in other parts of the nation. NDMA team was particularly interested to know if some movement in tectonic plates is responsible for it, as this area already falls in a highly seismic zone category which can act as a prelude to future earthquakes occurrence here.

Amit Sharma requested that an expert team be sent to this site to conduct an in-depth study so that such phenomenon can be checked to an extent in the future as a lot of hotels/guest houses have come-up in this vicinity which poses a potential threat to both human safety and infrastructure which necessitated calling for this highest-level meeting to conduct root cause analysis for same.

Before the culmination of this meeting, it was finally decided by NDMA that GSI, Wadia Institute, and other teams shall share a white paper on same with all stakeholders, especially UT Ladakh Administration and NDMA, which shall be followed by an Advisory of Do’s & Don’ts for the locals and also putting into place, a regular hot springs water-level monitoring mechanism at Chumathang, Nyoma by the experts which shall act as a long-term solution for the safety of locals, households, tourism points, defence rest houses here which are located very near to Indus River, flowing near these natural hot springs.