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Tehri Dam: Pride for India and A Curse for People6 min read

By Venkatesh #bhagirathi river, #ecological damage, #largest dam, #local protests, #tehri dam
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Tehri Dam is the largest dam ever built in India. With a height of 855 ft, the mammoth dam breathes heavily in the Garhwal district of Uttarakhand, India. Built for irrigation and supplying municipal water, the dam is also the 12th largest in the world. The tales of Tehri Dam date back to 1978 when the construction of the dam was supposed to begin. After years of deliberate planning and designing, the Jawaharlal Nehru Government faced various financial, environmental, and social issues to kickstart the project. Scraped roads, the valley filled with dirt, and trees covered with a dried layer of dust were a common sight to the inhabitants of the region.

In 1986, the project was backed by funding from USSR but could not proceed due to political instability. Fast forward to 1988, Tehri Hydro Development firm was established to manage the dam along with the UP Government looking over the irrigation portion of the project.

Table Of Contents
  1. Protests and Opposition
  2. Purpose
  3. Ecological Damage and Concerns
  4. The Persistence
  5. Spread the Word

Protests and Opposition

People wrote slogans on walls resisting
the construction

Throughout the years, the developments in the Tehri region did not go unopposed by the locals and the media. Local opposition began in 1978 with the formation of the Tehri Bandh Virodhi Sangarsh Samiti (the Anti-Tehri Dam Struggle Committee) spearheaded by Virendra Dutt Saklani. He was quick to amass people and point out the draconian environmental consequences associated with the project. Fearing heavy siltation due to logging in the Himalayan watershed, he stated that the expected life span of the dam will be about 35 years, compared to the 100 years claimed by the Dam Authority.

Locals stage protest against the Tehri Dam

“Is the US $1 billion spent on the project and the human displacement that took place worth only a scant 35 years of electricity?” questioned Saklani. Many successful nonviolent demonstrations were staged, during which many were arrested and jailed, especially in the early days of the campaign. Post the signing of the agreement between India and the USSR in 1986, international opposition had also gained momentum. Sir Sunderlal Bahugani Ji, a Padma Vibhushan awardee, was the leader of the campaign from 1984 to 2004. Despite the cries of the locals, massive environmental degradation, and displacement of over 1 lakh people in the region, the USD 1 billion complex continued its trajectory towards completion in the year 2006.

Purpose

The Tehri reservoir serves multiple purposes besides storing water to produce 6,200 GWh of annual electricity generation. It provides irrigation to an additional area of 270,000 hectares and supports the existing irrigated area of 604,000 hectares. It supplies clean drinking water to about 4 million people in Delhi and about 3 million in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. Was it worth all the commotion and chaos despite repeated failures with the project?

Ecological Damage and Concerns

Wildlife Photographer Rupankar recalls the sights of the old town of Tehri on his trip to the region from November 7, 2005,

“The gigantic reservoir of the Tehri dam has started swallowing up the old town. Houses of more than 1 lakh people of Tehri along with 112 villages will soon be lost forever. Relocation of the displaced people has been completed, though on paper. The land and houses, however well constructed, up in the hill cannot replace the fertile lands in the valleys. It is never easy for the hill people to leave their houses where generations have lived.”

Besides the displacement of more than 1 lakh people, experts have raised serious concerns over constructing such a dam in an ecologically fragile zone. The Tehri Dam is in the Central Himalayan Seismic Gap, a major geological fault zone. Dam proponents claim that the dam has been designed to withstand earthquakes up to 8.4 magnitudes. But seismologists argue that the region is prone to earthquakes above 8.5 magnitudes. Such a disaster would not only result in the loss of lives of over half a million people but also submerge all the towns below.

The Bhagirathi river was diverted to the reservoir back in the year 2005 for filling the reservoir. The main reservoir is a massive 42 sq km that will completely engulf Tehri town along with 40 villages and partially submerge another 72 villages. The flow of the river has now been reduced to a mere 200 cu/ft from the normal flow of 1000 cu/ft. The river once considered to be sacred in Hindu mythology and the source of 40% of the water supply to the Ganga, has been reduced to a mere stream in Devprayag, a town 80 km from the New Tehri region. Well, now you know why the water of the ‘holy’ river Ganga has been reducing over the years. 

The Persistence

Despite all the red flags, the mammoth dam continued to be built brick by brick, ignoring all the voices of the local population and experts. Did the 74-day fast undertaken by the Late Sunderlal Bahuguna Ji to protest against the Tehri Dam have no value? Certainly, the locals had no ill intention toward the development of the project. All they wanted was for their homes to be saved from destruction, the river they consider so sacred to be left on its own accord. One cannot even imagine being driven out of one’s own home. Generations of families, memories, and emotions are attached to a place. Bahugani Ji once said that the Dam has been built from our tears. He said that we need to think of the generations ahead instead of mindless development. The fury of mother nature knows no bounds.

The dam has undoubtedly taken care of the water problems for irrigation and drinking for many. But the residents of Tehri and its adjoining areas had to pay a huge price. The struggle of thousands should not fade away with time.

Spread the Word

Sunderlal Bahuguna Ji with the students of
a School

The tales of Tehri Dam should live on to set an example for the coming generations to be sensitive towards nature. The millennials of today would be in a position of power tomorrow. Stories of activists should be narrated to aspiring youngsters. Controversial projects should get more spotlight in the media rather than pictures of actors getting out of their gyms wearing funky outfits. Most of all, people like you need to become more environmentally conscious. Spark conversations among your friends over chai. Tell them the legends of Sunderlal Bahuguna, Virendra Dutta, Jayaprakash Narayan, Chandi Prasad Bhatt. Those people who strongly opposed ecologically damaging projects and who fought for the silenced, gathering lakhs in their support. Time is ticking. The question is, are you prepared for the worse that is yet to come?

Citations:

1) Tehri Dam. (2023, January 4). In Wikipedia.

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

2) The Tehri Dam, India – Stumbling Toward Catastrophe. (2010, February 24). In Cultural Survival.

The Tehri Dam, India – Stumbling Toward Catastrophe | Cultural Survival

3) Tehri: The Sinking Town. (2005, November 7). In Blogspot.

India Travel Diary: Tehri: The Sinking Town (seven-sisters.blogspot.com)

By Venkatesh

Hey there, I'm Venkatesh and I hail from the City of Nawabs- Lucknow. I started my journey in environmental activism and volunteering from 2019. Have more than 3+ years of on-ground experience and leading teams. My motive? To bring out new ideas and spread awareness on topics regarding climate change and leading a sustainable lifestyle.

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