Remembering Sunderlal Bahuguna (My kites, my memories)

My kites, my memories

#Tehri Dooban lagu cha…(the biggest forced migration from Uttarakhand hills)

When I started working in Dehradun in the month of November 2000, Tehri #dam was under construction. The THDC was in the process of constructing the underground power house to produce a whopping 2000 Mw of electricity. The total capacity of the Tehri hydel project including 400 Mw Koteshwar dam is 2400 Mw making it one of the biggest hydropower plants in India.

I visited Tehri repeatedly to cover the construction of the mega Dam and interviewed a cross section of people including Sunder lal Bahuguna, who was bitterly opposing the dam. Bahuguna and other activists used to raise various #environmental concerns. Bahuguna would often say the dam would pollute the Bhagirathi adversely affecting its flora and fauna. “The Bhagirathi will die if the dam is allowed to be built,” Bahuguna said every time when I met him.

But when the dam was finally built and Old Tehri completely submerged, Bahuguna left the area crestfallen. But he was not the only person who was forced to leave his homeland. Thousands of people were uprooted from Old Tehri town and nearby villages which were swamped by the gushing Bhagirathi river water that would create a huge reservoir. Everything was lost in the reservoir. An air of despondency was all around.

I too was saddened after seeing the plight of the dam refugees. Most of these people never wanted to leave Tehri area which was known for its rich culture and heritage. I took many pictures at Old Tehri which one can see on the internet.

I am recalling this story only to highlight the dark days when Old Tehri was drowning and there was commotion all around. I was seeing such heart-wrenching scenes for the first time. But after writing repeatedly for PTI and other newspapers such as Deccan Herald and Business standard, I realized that my stories were hardly making any impact. Scores of other journalists too were also doing good stories on Tehri. But the voice of the media was not heard. In the name of the development, a very heavy price was paid.

Soon, the Old Tehri became a history and the dam started producing electricity in 2006 after its commissioning. During the 2013 Kedarnath deluge, the THDC claimed that the dam had prevented a big catastrophe from happening at Rishikesh, Haridwar and other downstream areas as it absorbed the impact of the deluge considerably in its reservoir. The THDC also claims that the dam can also withstand the impact of a bigger earthquake of level 8 on the Richter Scale.

These days, the state government is trying its best to promote adventure sports in the Tehri reservoir. Tourists who go to Tehri put their pictures on the social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram and Whatsapp in different poses. I don’t know whether most of these tourists know what is underneath the water on which they speed their boats. Sometime, the famous Clock Tower of Old Tehri gets visible when the water level is low. Ends