Detour for Nandakini over power projects; Nandprayag dismayed

Himanshu Kumar Lall | Nandprayag

Nandprayag, the confluence of rivers Nandakini and Alaknanda, is staring at obliteration with planners of three upcoming hydel power projects in the region set to alter the former’s course.

The demise of Nandprayag, a pilgrim halt on the way to Badrinath shrine as well as a significant trading place and the second of the sacred Panch Prayag on the Alaknanda, will deliver a lethal blow to tourism, the largest sector of Uttarakhand’s economy.

The State Government has sanctioned three hydel power projects on a 20-km stretch of the Nandakini river. The two MW Tefna hydel power project was built in 2005 by a private power company.

The MoU for another project, the Vanala-Jakhani hydel power project set to generate 15 MW and worth Rs 75 crore, was signed on June 11, 2004. Production of power for this project is set to start next week.

Only 213 villagers including 172 from Vanala village, where the power house is located, and adjoining areas were employed for a short span of time on the second project and they will be rendered jobless once the project is completed.

In the third and final phase of the project, the Nandakini will be made to pass through a tunnel in the adjoining mountain where the Mangrolli-Devlibagard hydel power project has been proposed. Work on this project is likely to start next month.

The Uttarakhand Government has taken possession of 0.757 hectares of reserved forest land for the first two projects. Earlier, residents of nearby villages, namely, Mangroli, Tefna, Manson, Gawai, Sacand, Bharni, Sartolli, Gawala and Pursari, protested and agitated against construction of both projects.

Environmentalists and locals report that the river has turned into a virtual drain for nearly five kilometres near its catchment area as a result of huge tunnels that divert its water into turbines. Shrubs have grown in the middle of the dry riverbed, locals confirmed.

Sources said that the third project would lead to the death of the Nandakini river.

The river Nandakini is formed by four sacred streams origin-ating in the Nanda Devi and the Pindari glacier.

As many as 21 Gram Sabhas with a population of around 20,000 are affiliated to Nandprayag and last rites of residents of around 100 villages are performed here. The town river ghat is also the site of the mandatory holy dip of pilgrims on their way to Badrinath.

Expressing his concern, Chandshekhar Pallav, former Nagar Panchayat president and chairman of Nadi Bachao Sangarsh Samiti, said that locals are in no mood to allow the Government to complete the third and final phase of the mega project.

“Environmentalist and locals must join hands to oppose the final phase of the project,” Pallav said.

“Several memorandums highlighting demands of the local people have been submitted to the District Magistrate, Chamoli, and top bureaucrats but no action has been taken. Those evacuated from project land have also not been rehabilitated,” he said.