The Mandi Tragedy

The Gushing Waters of Beas Swallowed 24 Students 

The last Smile of the ill fated students

The gates of Larji Dam were opened and the students enjoying the sight seeing in river base were washed away by sudden rise in the river water.
It all happened on 8th June 2014 at 6.30 PM, when the students of VNR Vignana Jyothi Institute of Engineering and Technology  Hyderabad on their way to Manali to Kullu halted at Thalout, a place just 2 KM from Larji Dam, to wait for their colleagues who were coming after them on another Volvo bus. In the meantime the students went down to the river bed where little water was flowing.

We Will Miss You 

Suddenly the water started rising, the students took shelter on a high rock, but before anyone could understand anything the water rose more than six feet and 24 students were found floating on the gushing water of the river. The villagers and the students ashore rushed to save them but the students disappeared before their eyes.

The last photograph of the students in the middle of the river 

As per the Dam authorities, the gates were opened because due to an increase in frequency the North Grid had asked  the State Load Dispatch Center or SLDC, to reduce the load so that the Grid may not collapse. In that case the whole of North India would have come under the power crisis. So the Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board at the behest of SLDC reduced or altogether stopped it completely. 


The turbines of 126 Megawatt capacity were stopped and the water which would otherwise have been diverted to the underground tunnel started accumulating in the reservoir and reached the danger level.

To aggravate the problem the melting glaciers on high reaches at the source of the river increased the water level further. The additional water came from the Parvati Project upstream. The authorities in order to save the dam opened the gates after giving warning signals of the hooter. 

But the students could not listen or understand the meaning of the hooter, as unlike the locals they were not aware of the water releasing  routine near the vicinity of the dam, as there was no signboard to warn them. They continued with their frolic being unaware of gushing waters.  

The accident occurred completely due to the negligence of the Dam authorities, who opened all the gates of the dam, and the warning sound if any raised by them could not reach the untoward students.

It is surprising that why all the gates of the Dam were opened, as it is never done even if there is a flood or the cloudburst occurs. 

The dams are also built to control the floods instead of creating them. Why the water was not continuously released in small quantity in anticipation of the inflow.Why the water was allowed to reach the danger zone.

Why the services of mobile hooter was not taken. Why the flood area downstream has not been fenced. Why the tourists were not warned before visiting such dangerous areas.

The local residents of Thalout, Shalanala and the adjoining villages allege that the dam authorities generally release surplus water after 9 PM, but on the ill-fated day the gates were opened as early as 6 PM, which caused this tragedy. The mandatory hooters too were not sounded in time as the witnesses did not listen the hooters before the arrival of the students.

Why the innocent students between the age group of 18 to 24 died for no fault of theirs. Some people say that the students should not have gone close to the river, but they forget that the tourists come to enjoy and not to sit inside the bus or within their rooms.

It is the responsibility of the authorities to make the visit of the tourists safe. The Electricity Board has suspended two engineers and a fitter after instituting an inquiry.

The Hon'ble High Court of Hinachal Pradesh has asked the district administration to furnish full details about the occurrence of the accident. The people of entire Himachal are shocked at this sad incident.  Only 5 bodies have so far been recovered and the rescue or recovery operations are going on.

The case under section 304 and 336 registered against the Larji Dam Management authorities. It is a belated, but right decision. The right decision. What would have happened if the same gatekeepers of larji had been given the charge of Bhakra dam. Their recklessness would have inundated entire Punjab, Haryana and Delhi. the dams are meant not only to generate electricity but control the floods too. The same case should be registered against the authorities of Parvati Project, because they too increased the water level in Larji Project by releasing the water.

The telephone number of Control Room at Mandi is 01905 223374

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The Team leader was the Unsung hero 

Saved his four batch-mates before being swept away

M Kiran Kumar

M Kiran Kumar, a 20 year old young leader of the touring team was the unsung hero of the tragedy that occurred on 8th June 2014 at Mandi in Hinachal Pradesh, when the gates of Larji dam were opened. The students were were getting themselves photographed on the banks of the river. At least 24 students, including six girls were washed away in the gushing waters of the river.
As soon as the river water began to rise, he sensed trouble and started pushing his friends out of the water. But when four of his rescued friends turned around, they found him struggling in the gushing waters. But the strong currents eventually swept away this capable swimmer. 

The students and the parents are overwhelmed with a sense of pride. He deserves to be honored with Ashok Chakra for his bravery. We salute this young hero of Khammam. He had joined the institute in 2012 and was the student of Electronics and Instrumentation Engineering. 

One of the last photograph of the students

The Tragic Time

5.50 PM- The powerhouse received a call from SLDC to decrease the production from 138 MW to 64 MW.

5.55 PM- The production stopped in one unit. The reservoir started overflowing and the water started touching the NH-21 at Aut, one KM upstream.

6.00 PM- A group of 65 students reached Shalanala in two buses. Some students descend up to 60 feet from the road to reach the river bank.

6.25 PM- The water rises suddenly and washed away 24 students and the team leader including 6 girls.

6.45 PM- About 100 cubic meter per second of water released from the barrage.

6.50 Pm- The police post at Aut informed about the tragedy and the police rushed to the spot.

7.00 PM- The agitated people blocked the traffic in National Highway in protest.

8.00 PM- The search and rescue operation began and two bodies recovered geom Pandoh dam.

The extensive search in Beas

10.15 PM- Two more bodies recovered.

The Recovery Operation

The extensive Rescue and recovery operation id still going on in Beas river. so far only 8 bodies of the students have been recovered till June 16. 

The parents of the students are visiting the accident site daily to personally view the recovery process. 

The army, police, home guard, rafting companies, navy, SSB, the National Disaster Response Force and local people are trying their best to recover the bodies.

It is feared that the bodies might have got entrapped in silt, and may come up during rainy season when the monsoons will flush out the silt from the Pandoh reservoir. 

There is a possibility that the dead bodies will come up within fifteen days.

The multi- beam sonar system of NDRF failed to help in recovery of any dead body. 

Some of the parents of the students have become adamant that they would return with the dead bodies, while a few of them have lost hope and are likely to go back.

The Deputy Commissioner of Mandi Devash Kumar has alerted the police stations downstream to remain vigilant about the dead bodies if any flowing in their jurisdiction in Beas river. 

Besides a toll free number 1800 1808024 and land line numbers 01905-223374, 01905-225205 and mobile number o9418039800 have been given to the parents and guardians, from where they can have any information.

The District Administration has made an arrangement to send all the recovered dead dbodies to Hyderabad after taking the DNA sample and sending the documents like death certificate, copy of FIR, pastmortum report and other documents. 

The Illegal Mining Also Responsible

The illegal mining of sand and gravel for construction industry goes on unabated in the river bed. The mining mafia has built several unauthorized roads in the river bed by diamanteling the walls of National Highway at several places along the Beas river. The presence of these roads also misled the ill fated students to go deep into the river bed. The surviving students related that they went there as they thought that it was a safe place because of the presence of the roads.
Mukesh Agnihotri, the Industry Minister of Himachal Pradesh has ordered strict action against the illegal mining in the Beas river. Besides, Virbhadra Singh, the Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh had earlier ordered the blocking of approach roads into the river by reconstructing the walls of National Highway. 
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