New Tehri town residents cry foul over govt.'s 'forgetful' attitude

New Tehri (Uttarakhand), Oct. 14 : Residents of New Tehri town, who were displaced from their villages in Tehri area to settle at a new habitat consequent to the Tehri Dam project, are today compelled to lead a dejected life.

They say the government had not fulfilled its promises and the promised New Tehri Town overlooking a lake is yet to come up.

A colossal sum of 500 crores of rupees had also been earmarked towards fulfilling the promises.

"We left Tehri and we came to the New Tehri Town, but till date we have not seen any development in the city. Apart from the artificial lake there is no other important point which can attract tourists. The state of bus stands and roads is as bad as any interior village," said Baraj Singh Rawat, a resident of New Tehri Town.

New Tehri is a newly established township in the District headquarters of Tehri Garhwal.

Located at an altitude of nearly 1950 metres above sea-level, this was intended to be a well-planned town, 11 kilometres from Chamba and 24 kilometres off the old Tehri town.

All that the government had proclaimed prior to the founding of this Town is yet to be realized.

"New Tehri Town is having potential of becoming a tourist destination, next to Mussorie. But negligence and lack of initiative on the part of the government have resulted in no development of this place. Several times, we have asked the Government to sort out the issues, and to commence development work at the earliest. The lake can be utilised for water sports but no efforts have been made in this direction," said Inder Singh Rana, member, Hoteliers Association in New Tehri.

Commissioner of Garhwal District, meanwhile, reiterated that soon a lake development plan would be executed.

"We are trying our level-best to complete all the work as soon as possible. With the development of Tehri dam whole Uttaranchal is having electricity, and we have completed the artificial lake. Other development plans and tasks will also be completed soon," said Subhash Kumar, Commissioner, Garhwal.

Although the government is likely to earn good revenue from the dam project, the displaced families presently in New Tehri Town feel that the promises made by the authorities are a mirage. By Ashish Goel

ANI