📷 Image: Wikimedia Commons / Dr Vikramjit Kakati
Local
Tehri Dam Displaced Families Still Await Basic Services After 26 Years
✍️ Amar Ujala · Patiala
🗓 29 Aug 2026, 07:03 PM
👁 3
More than two decades after the Tehri Dam project forced thousands from their homes, many displaced families in Uttarakhand continue to lack essential services such as water, electricity and health care.
The Tehri Dam, completed in the mid‑1990s, led to the relocation of thousands of residents from villages in the Tehri Garhwal district of Uttarakhand. Twenty‑six years later, the displaced population remains in temporary settlements where access to clean drinking water, reliable electricity, and adequate health facilities is still limited.
Local authorities have undertaken several rehabilitation schemes over the years, but many families report that promised houses are either incomplete or situated far from schools and markets. The lack of proper road connectivity further hampers their ability to earn a livelihood and access public services.
Community groups and non‑governmental organisations continue to press the state government for accelerated implementation of basic infrastructure projects. While some progress has been noted, the overall pace of rehabilitation remains slow, leaving the displaced community in a prolonged state of hardship.
The situation underscores the long‑term social impact of large‑scale hydro‑electric projects in the Himalayas, highlighting the need for sustained policy focus on resettlement and livelihood restoration.
Local authorities have undertaken several rehabilitation schemes over the years, but many families report that promised houses are either incomplete or situated far from schools and markets. The lack of proper road connectivity further hampers their ability to earn a livelihood and access public services.
Community groups and non‑governmental organisations continue to press the state government for accelerated implementation of basic infrastructure projects. While some progress has been noted, the overall pace of rehabilitation remains slow, leaving the displaced community in a prolonged state of hardship.
The situation underscores the long‑term social impact of large‑scale hydro‑electric projects in the Himalayas, highlighting the need for sustained policy focus on resettlement and livelihood restoration.