Residents of villages likely to be affected by the State Government’s conditional permission to THDC India limited for raising the level of water in the Tehri dam reservoir to 830 metres staged a protest at the Tehri Collectorate here on Monday.
Residents stressed that they should not allow the level of water in the reservoir to be raised unless the problems of the affected villages are redressed first.
Residents of Thauldhar, Pratapnagar, Jakhanidhar and Bhilangana amont other areas reached the Collectorate on Monday and demanded that the problems being faced in the villages be redressed before raising the water level in the reservoir.
Dozens of residents from the dam affected Jalwal, Khola, Kangsali, Kathuli, Sandana, Nandgaon, Uppu Sirai, Sem, Ghandyalgi, Khand, Myunda Indrola, Chanthi, Bhainga, Jagani, Bhaldiyana and Chinyalisaud villages protested here raising slogans against the State Government and district administration.
They said that the affected villagers had been facing various problems due to the dam reservoir for many years but instead of ensuring the redressal of these problems, the State Government had accorded conditional permission to THDC India limited for raising the level of water in the reservoir which would exacerbate the problems being faced by the villagers and even endanger their lives.
Before raising the level of water in the reservoir, the authorities should first facilitate rehabilitation and redressal of problems as required.
The protesting villagers warned that if the water level is raised without the problems being redressed, they would be forced to undertake agitation. Some local BJP leaders, supporting the demand of the villagers, also sat on dharna along with the locals.
The protesters submitted a memorandum of their demands addressed to the district magistrate through the rehabilitation director.
Former MlA from Pratapnagar, Vijay Singh Panwar, Premdutt Juyal, Ramsundar Nautiyal, Durga Singh Rana and Chandrama Devi among others participated in the protest.