Uttar Kashi:
Villagers took to the streets in a rally, sloganeering to oppose construction of the Lohri Nagpal dam project, 30 km from Uttar Kashi.
Three other dams are also coming up in the same area.
Tunneling through the tributaries of the Ganga holds out the threat of several such channels disappearing altogether. Work here began 6 years ago and surrounding villages are complaining of water problems.
"These projects destroy the purest source of water in the country, which is Ganga. It leads to deforestation," said Priyadarshini Patel, Environmentalist.
Environmentalists have been putting pressure on the government to stop work at the dam site. The prime minister's office issued a notice in February this year, suspending construction work at the Lohri Nagpal project. In May, the Nainital High Court reversed an earlier order which implied work should stop.
But when NDTV visited the site, work was in progress.
"The High Court judgement just referred the matter to the Ganga basin authority. The Uttaranchal government is studying the problems," said T L Shrivastav, Additional GM, Lohari Nagpal Dam Project, NTPC.
If work goes on at this pace, the Northern grid is supposed to get 600 MW of power from this project. But environmentalists say, that is at the cost of this entire stretch of the river running dry.
Three other dams are also coming up in the same area.
Tunneling through the tributaries of the Ganga holds out the threat of several such channels disappearing altogether. Work here began 6 years ago and surrounding villages are complaining of water problems.
"These projects destroy the purest source of water in the country, which is Ganga. It leads to deforestation," said Priyadarshini Patel, Environmentalist.
Environmentalists have been putting pressure on the government to stop work at the dam site. The prime minister's office issued a notice in February this year, suspending construction work at the Lohri Nagpal project. In May, the Nainital High Court reversed an earlier order which implied work should stop.
But when NDTV visited the site, work was in progress.
"The High Court judgement just referred the matter to the Ganga basin authority. The Uttaranchal government is studying the problems," said T L Shrivastav, Additional GM, Lohari Nagpal Dam Project, NTPC.
If work goes on at this pace, the Northern grid is supposed to get 600 MW of power from this project. But environmentalists say, that is at the cost of this entire stretch of the river running dry.
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