The Lohari Nagpal Dam, situated in Uttarakhand’s Uttarkashi, can become the reason behind a major disaster. In order to save the environment, the construction of the dam had been stalled mid-way, and three incomplete tunnels, made with the same, are passing from under 4 villages. Now, land subsidence can be seen in these villages, because of which, around 1250 families living here are in panic.
19 years ago, the 600-MegaWatt Lohari Nagpal Hydro-electricity Project, on the Bhagirathi River, at around a distance of 50 KMs from Uttarkashi, towards the Chinese border, got enticed in controversies as it moved forward. Environmentalist GD Agarwal opposed the construction of the dam, citing the damage to the environment. After this, the Manmohan Singh-government had announced the area from ahead of Uttarkashi till Gangotri to be an ‘eco-sensitive’ zone. In 2010, NTPC had to stall the construction of the dam, which had been completed 65%.
Some tunnels had also been half-made , which passed from under the Tihar, Kunjan, Bhangeli, and Sunagar villages. There are a total of 500 families in Tihar, 345 in Kunjan, and 400 in the other two villages. Now, because of these incomplete tunnels, these villages are facing the subsidence of land, and the whole region is under panic. Because of the incomplete construction of the dam, the whole region has turned dangerous.
