Is there a link between the recent glacier burst on Mt. Nanda Devi and loss of nuclear device set by India and the USA in 1965?



CIA_IB nuclear device installation, Nanda Devi peak, India livehistoryindia.com

It is reported that on 7 February 2021  a portion of the Nanda Devi glacier broke  away and the glacial melt water, caused the  flooding of Dhauliganga and the Rishiganga rivers. One dam at the Dhauliganga hydropower project at Reni village was destroyed and another suffered a partial collapse. Initial reports said nine people were dead and 140 missing. Water levels on the Alaknanda also rose to a dangerous level.  
The glacier burst tragedy that took place in the state of Uttarakhand, N. India in the recent past  had left behind a trail of destruction, loss of lives and properties and in the wake of this incident, the villagers of Raini in the Tapovan area of Chamoli district were seriously concerned about this unforeseen natural disaster that is said to have been caused by human error committed decades ago.  A strange mood of anxiety and foreboding has settled on the village and in the district. 

CIA-IB installing nuclear device, Mt. Nanda Devi, Indiamensxp.com

Now, the villagers' apprehension about the safety of their future is quite reasonable. The consensus among them and the some of the news media has been that the root cause of this calamity could have been   more due to a radioactive device that  had been  buried somewhere in the Nanda Devi mountain  (at 25,645 feet) since the middle of 1960s. than other reasons.  After a long passage of time - roughly 55 years, its exact  location of burial is still a myth.  With a view to keeping a tab on the  activities of the communist China and its military expansion, the plutonium  radioactive device   weighing around 56kg, including an 8-10ft-high antenna, two transceiver sets system, the remote sensing device which was supposed to keep track of any further nuclear tests by China after 1965, is said to be  have been clandestinely planted during a secret   Government classified  joint expedition in 1965 by  the  Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) of the United States  in association  with  the Intelligence Bureau of India.  

The US climbers, undertook this secret, but difficult  mission under the guise of 'The Air Force High Altitude Test Program' (HAT) to cover up this secret mission.  The  main component  was generator's nuclear fuel - 7 plutonium capsules in a special container.  As for the power of plutonium, it  was “about half the size of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima,” said team leader Manmohan Singh Kohli, an ace mountain climber  in an interview with Live Mint.  There was an urgent need to monitor  China which had conducted a nuclear test  at  Lop Nor in Barren Sinkiang province on October 16th, 1964.  Since early 1960s, China has been a rogue country  and a threat to India's national security.

Location of  Mt. Nanda Devi. johnevansclimbing.com


Location Mt. Nanda Devi, India. livehistoryindia.com

China site of nuclear test, 1964.mensxp.com

 Already the military regime illegally seized Tibet  and  forced  Dalai Lama, the religious leader of Tibetans to take refuge in India during the Nehru  administration. Later China invaded the border areas of India; the country was not well prepared for a sudden  invasion and had to face defeat. During  the Vietnam War, the Chinese gave the US tough time  and posed  a new threat to the already embattled US intelligence.  At that point of time, the US reconnaissance satellite  technology was not good enough  to spy on China's nuclear capabilities and their clandestine activities. The emerging China factor pushed the USA to get engaged in a covert operation with India which had just begun to strengthen its military capability. 

Mt. Nanda Devi, India scoopwhoop.com

Above image:  Mt. Nanda Devi  or the blessed goddess is the highest mountain peak of India in the state of Uttarakhand. and it is strategically located.  A fine vantage point to keep an eye on arrogant and nasty  eastern neighbor–China, the peak lies just 500 miles from Sinkiang  and presents a challenging ascent  for even the best of mountaineers. CIA's initial plan of planting  the device at 27,000 feet  was changed  as the  inputs suggested that  same results could be achieved at an altitude of  25,645 foot, eliminating the risk levels on the higher slopes.  At places  where temperatures could go down - 40 degree Celsius, the people in charge of installation of the device on the first expedition could feel the heat radiating  from the  thick container that housed plutonium-238..The Nanda Devi South glaciers provide copious supply of water across many Indian  states. .................

"Apparently in October of 1959 it was confirmed that China, with Soviet assistance, had established a nuclear test base at Lop Nor with all intentions of testing a nuclear device. U-2 flights over China were becoming extremely dangerous, so powers thought if they could put a monitoring station on top of some Himalayan mountain with a clear shot towards Lop Nor they could gather all the information they needed. Before a decision was made as to what mountain would be selected, it was a given it would be at a very high altitude." CIA wires.

1965 CIA and IB team,spy mission to Nanda Devi.  mensxp.com

 In an extremely cold and glacial environment on the summit of the Himalayan mountain of Nanda Devi, the sleuths decided to install   a nuclear-powered surveillance device  to watch the Chinese To get the device going continuously for years, the source of power  was a problem. In such a harsh environment on the peak neither battery  device nor solar powered device could meet the primary needs - durability  long life and continuous monitoring. Further, such a  device  needed a periodic check which was impossible as  Nanda  Devi peak happened to be one  the most difficult peaks to be accessed by the  expert mountaineers. 

CIA-India secret mission. Nanda Devi, rockandice.com

As ill-luck would have it, despite long preparations and  adequate precaution, the CIA's one of the most difficult and secrets operations  atop the mountain  ended  in a fiasco; it was an abortive mission to set up the nuclear device on the higher slope of the mountain. Reason: In the middle of their  installation operation near  the summit, they were hit by a severe blizzard  and their lives were in danger. With no options open,  CIA and Indian sleuths  abandoned  the  covert mission midway to escape  from near  death-like situation.  When the team  returned to the spot in the year 1966, they could not find the device. The device is said to have a life of around 100 years out of which 45 are still left. However, many  question the veracity of the story put out by the CIA. It is learnt that the radioactive material used in the device is  an alloy of Pu-238 with 18 percent Pu-239 which is considered the most effective combination to prolong the life span of the material and generate maximum energy

The nuclear device  and the equipment were lost  under the piles of ice and  it was an Herculean task to retrieve it.  Now, the villagers and others are being haunted by a long-held suspicion  that the nuclear device that lies buried in the Nanda Devi mountain one day may cause  serious damages to their lives, the placid environment and the water resources in the Indo-Gangetic plains.  The moot question is: Did the  buried  nuclear device due to  over heating  and possible radiation  trigger  the recent glacier  burst and Chamoli flash floods?   Some experts  say that Chamoli flash floods and many other disasters on the Himalayan mountain are  primarily caused by global warming and  climate change.  The floods,  severely damaged  two  Dhauliganga hydro power projects that were in progress and loss of  countless lives, etc.,  at Raini village.  A total of  32 bodies were found to date while 174 were missing and the casualty figure was going up as days went by.   This unexpected havoc brought back fears of old tales and rumors  related to a lost radioactive material in the Nanda Devi glaciers.

Indian nuclear scientists are unable to give proper explanation  on the status of the nuclear device buried in the mountain   in the absence of details. However, way back in 1965  American senator Richard Autier   and famous Russian scientist Arthur Compeleene warned India about the  radio active  device,  saying that lakhs of people might  be affected if there was  leak of  radiation.

Water sources to River ganga, India. mensxp.com

According to one Mohan Singh, a resident of Raini village who took part  part in many expeditions in Nanda Devi glaciers,  the flash floods were not the result of any device. With the passage of time the  buried nuclear instrument  has become a myth eventually.   However, a few people associated with the 1965  expedition  feel "The device is dangerous and may be the cause of these floods  from the meting the snow." It is likely, the melting of glaciers might have taken at close points within in the perimeter of the device and the gushing melt water down the slope  triggered the Chamoli flash floods. 

What's  so surprising is the  half-hearted  interest shown by the  USA and India in the matter of  mishap  due to  damaged  device for various reasons and the  possible consequences on the environment, water resources and millions of people living in the Gangetic plains along the river Ganga and its tributaries.  Such a possibility of  mysterious  emerging scenario is not given serious attention and is  just  ignored. The former India Mountaineering Federation vice-president Harish Kapadia said  long ago in the interview with Livemint, "The sherpas who carried the gadget had a lot of exposure, and the threat of radioactivity is certainly there."   The real  danger  was the  radio-active poisoning of the Rishi Ganga, the river that drains the Nanda Devi  melting glaciers into the Ganga river.  Between 2004 and 2007 tests done d by climber Pete Takeda of samples from the peak area, showed evidence of the Plutonium. The  then union government ignored his  findings.  In 2018,  the state cabinet minister of Uttarakhand Satpal Maharaj  said that he had urged the Indian Prime Minister to take action in this regard.  Several years ago the USA's attempt to clean up the the areas on Nanda Devi slopes  where the plutonium container was lost was met with failure. The plan  was to  use  Rubber hoses to wash away the rubble and dig out the nuclear device. Though theory wise, it was possible, practically speaking, it did not go well because  the mound created by the successive avalanches was almost as big as the Giza pyramid.  

The fear of plutonium contamination of  a vast land, stretching from the terrain of Rishiganga along the river Ganga  up to Kolkata  city on the east and  the threats to millions of people  along the river  is very much there.  In the recent Chamoli flash floods caused by the glacier burst, people along the banks could not bear the foul smell emanating from the gushing  melt water. What is the reason for this foul smell?  No proper explanation is forthcoming. With far better advanced technology in the area of satellite imaging, both the US and India  can work together to  fish out the deeply buried nuclear device buried in the glaciers of Mt. Nanda Devi. Until it is  dug out, we have to keep our fingers crossed with apprehension. 

https://zeenews.india.com/india/is-plutonium-device-behind-uttarakhand-glacier-burst-myths-and-rumors-afloat-over-tapovan-tragedy-2341116.html

https://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/2021/feb/10/the-floods-were-caused-by-lost-nuclear-deviceuttarakhand-villagers-story-goes-back-to-1965-2262071.html

https://www.mensxp.com/special-features/longform/39854-operation-hat-how-cia-lost-a-nuclear-device-in-india-while-spying-on-china-and-almost-polluted-ganga.html

http://www.livemint.com/Leisure/3QfYqLadggrbnrn41H0mAJ/The-Nanda-Devi-mystery.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nanda_Devi