Earlier in February , parts of the Indian Himalayas were hit by flash flooding after the Chamoli Glacier burst , destroy a damat Tapovan in the process , leaving at least68dead .
Scientists looking at the area from above believe that the vast deluge was activate by a piece of the glacier hanging on a slope thatbroke off – following age of thawing and refreezing – and tumbled down the mountain slope , which blocked the water in the stream below . The water level in all probability increased , leading to a burst , which in turn damaged the dekameter further downstream and run to the flash inundation that followed .
The residents of the village of Raini , however , are not convince by the explanation – and it all goes back to a strange tale of the CIA and radioactive material that took place during the height of the Cold War .
Stories , trust by people exist in the village for decades , tell of how the CIA went on a secret expedition toNanda Devi , India ’s mellow mountain . Rather than climb the deal themselves , they recruited elite climbers from the local area and the US , training them to plant a twist at the top of the mountain : a atomic number 94 - powered piece of equipment that would beused to supervise China .
The stories , unknown though they sound , are true – though they were far from the success the CIA was hoping for . Two devices were supposed to be planted , one on the peak of Nanda Devi and one on Nanda Kot . The team on Nanda Kot made it to the peak and plant the machine , though nothing useful was gained from it . Given that the machine contained seven plutonium rods – never mind the expense – the machine was research for extensively after being bury in snowstorm , and the radioactive part was recover .
On the 2nd height of Nanda Devi , however , the squad did n’t make it quite to the top and were impel to go forth the equipment on the mountain before head down , away from the inauspicious conditions . When they returned , they find that the gadget – and the plutonium rods that powered it – had vanish , never to be see again .
“ Yeah , the equipment got avalanched and gravel in the glacier and God bang what effects that will have , " one of the social climber , Jim McCarthy , toldPete Takeda of Rock and Ice Magazine .
“ In the Sanctuary , I was the only guy who handle the plutonium , and I ’m the one who stretch the gadget and straddle the bally affair . have me recite you , the fuel rod were wildly lovesome . ” McCarthy add .
“ I saw the Sherpas fight over who have to carry [ the gimmick ] . They had no idea of what it was . They ’d put the thing in the middle of their tent and huddle around it . I ensure none of them are awake now . ”
“ The smell was so intense that we were not capable to catch one’s breath for some clock time . Had it been only junk and snow , it would not have carried such a aroma , " one villagertold Times of India , describing a nipping olfactory perception in the air before the late event . " This has triggered concerns in our hamlet that the long - lost radioactive gimmick – about which our elders used to recite us – may be behind the incident . "
Government officials are not so keen on this possibility .
“ Since it is a radioactive component , it is lifelike that it would be emitting radioactive rays that have potential of harm the piss and other elements in its locality , " a fourth-year scientist in the chemistry section of the Forest Research Institute told Times of India . " However , we can take that since it was being transported as part of an expedition , it would be taken in a sealed bedroom , and therefore , there are less prospect of any radiation emitting outside . ”
The equipment has been look for for several times over the years , at great expense to the CIA and Indian politics , but still to no help . refreshed concerns after the break of the glacier – though likelycaused naturally – could prompt further investigating .
