THE TEHRI DAM PROJECT

• The Indian central government wants to build the 600 megawatt power HEP project in
the Bhagirathi valley in the Himalayas, Northern India.

• But the engineers, environmentalists and scientists say the river will be irreparably
harmed.

• They say that the dam - planned to be built at the source of the river - threatens its
natural flow.

WHY DOES INDIA NEED HYDROELECTRIC PROJECT?

• India's electricity needs have been growing rapidly along with its fast growing economy.

• About a quarter of its power is provided from hydro-power plants.

• The government says new dams currently under construction will go a long way towards
meeting outstanding energy needs to reduce dependence on fossil fuels.

• Rapid population growth, urbanization and industrialization will lead to a greater

demand for an increasingly smaller supply of water resources in India.

FACT FILE ON THE HYDROELECTRIC PROJECT?

• The rivers Bhagirathi and Bhilangana rise in the Himalayas in north-western Uttar Pradesh and
flow south to the plains as the Ganges.

• As part of a larger plan to trap the waters of the Upper Ganges basin, a three billion dollar clay
core, rock fill dam is being constructed at the confluence of the Bhagirathi and Bhilangana, close
to the town of Tehri.

• The lake created by the dam will extend up to 45 kms in the Bhagirathi Valley and 25 km in the
Bhilangana Valley.

CONSEQUENCES ASSOCIATED WITH DAM

• The completed dam will displace 86,500 people

• It will submerge several towns, among them the town of Tehri

• The region is vulnerable to earthquakes and the dam may be structurally incapable of
withstanding them or may perhaps even cause them
 • Both the resettlement policies and the structural flaws of the dam have provoked civil
protests, lawsuits and international attention that have repeatedly stalled the project.

“This is a dam built with our tears” —Sunderlal Bahuguna