Tehri dam is a large dam located near Tehri in the Indian state of Uttaranchal. The dam's projected capabilities include an power generation capacity of 1000 MW, an irrigation area of 2,700 km², and a supply of 1 million litres of water to industrialized cities in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh. While originally slated to be built with an approximate cost of 4 million US dollars, an equivalent of over 1 billion US dollars has been spent on the construction of the dam to date.

The dam project was approved in 1972, and the Tehri Hydro Development Corporation (THDC) began its construction in 1978. Construction continues till date, with the final two tunnels being closed in December 2002. The Tehri dam lies at the confluence of the rivers Bhagirathi (a tributary of the Ganga) and Bhilangana. This dam has been the object of intense protests from environmental groups and the people of this region. Apart from environmental concerns regarding the location of large dams in the fragile ecosystem of the Himalayan foothills, there are also concerns regarding the dam's safety. The Tehri dam is located in the Central Himalayan Siesmic Gap, a major geologic fault zone. This region was the site of a magnitude 6.8 earthquake in October 1991, epicentred 50 km from the location of the dam.

References

• Tehri dam, a factsheet published by the International Rivers Network (October 2002)
• Official website of the Tehri Hydro Development Corporation Limited, the organization in charge of the dam's construction

Related articles

• News articles
  • India goes ahead with Tehri dam (8 December 2001)
  • Indian court clears dam project (2 September 2003)
  • India tunnel collapse toll rises (4 August 2004)

• A Dam Shame, article from Grist Magazine (8 June 2004)