A meeting of the Environment Conservation Committee of Parliament on Thursday held consultation with the authorities concerned about the possible risk of glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF) and the measures that could be taken to lessen the risk.

As many as six glacial lakes, including Tsho Rolpa in the Rolwaling valley and Imja in the Khumbu region, could have devastating consequences if they burst, said Top Bahadur Khatri, chief of Community Based Floods and Glacial Lake Explosion Risk Reduction Project.

Prior information and alarm mechanisms such as sirens have been installed at different places and settlements in Chaurikharka, Khumjung and Namche of Solukhumbu and Tarai districts, including Mahottari, Saptari, Siraha and Udaypur, which might be affected in the event of bursting of Tsho Rolpa. Imja and Tsho Rolpa are among the thousands of lakes in the Himalayas formed by the melting of glaciers.

At the House committee meeting on Thursday, lawmakers Ganesh Bimali, Duman Singh Thapa, Kamala BK, Hari Parasd Upreti, Hari Rajbanshi, Rajaram Syangtan and Man Bahadur Bishwakarma among others had suggested that the concerned authorities must put immediate measures in place to mitigate the risk.

The Nepal Army last month started work to drain rising waters in the Imja lake at nearly 5,000 metres in one of the drainage projects carried out at such a height.

In 2000, the level of Tsho Rolpa on the west of the Everest region was lowered to stop it from bursting its banks.

Scientists believe many lakes, including Imja and Tsho Rolpa could have been weakened by last year’s quake.

Glacial lakes have broken their banks more than 20 times in recent decades, and three of those incidents have been in and around the Everest region.