A History under a watery grave

What is now a huge reservoir for Tehri Dam in Uttarakhand In India, there not so long ago used to be Tehri town at the confluence of Bhagirathi and Bhilangana rivers. A town with hundreds of years of living history was given a watery grave for a mega hydro-electric project despite all hue and cry by activists & environmentalists. This himalayan belt is already a high-seismic activity area. A strong local movement notwithstanding against brute state power driven by strong urge to have development at any cost, Tehri town alongwith more than hundred odd villages was finally submerged in 2005. Today only history remains…

Overlooking Submerged History… An account from Sursingh Dhar

http://vagabondimages.in/2013/06/14/overlooking-submerged-history/

Reservoir of the dam has given the Bhagirathi river a fearsome look

New Tehri town with the portion of Bhagirathi river in the background, where old one was submerged

New Tehri town amidst cloud cover. Old Tehri was at the altitude of 755 metres while the new one is at altitude os 1600 metres above sea level

A verse written by a poet Hemchandra Saklani in memory of the drowning town. I found this hanging in the lobby of Himlayan Eco Lodges at Sursingh Dhar

Old Tehri having last breath. Reservoir slowly engulfing last remains of the town. Iconic clock tower was the last one to drown. We can see the last remains in this picture. Photo: courtsey Google.com

Dam as mighty as this one has raised many a concerns from many quarters

Bhilangana river has a ropeway across for people to move on either sides

This is the actual place where lies buried the Old Tehri town beneath the water

Just a few kilometres away from the dam, roads are still not worth weathering a tough weather and challenging hills

The river, the hills and the Tehri dam

New Tehri town has been designed to look as a replica of the submerged town… clock tower and the mosque resemble the ones submerged