It is now inevitable that Tehri will be submerged. The 185-year-old Himalayan town's fate was sealed on December 5, 2001, when the gates of two tunnels were shut to terminate the flow of the Bhagirathi river. This major step towards completion of the controversy-ridden Tehri dam also marked the petering out of a three-decade-long campaign against the project. Ironically, as the blocked waters of the river rose, among the first to be inundated was the hut of noted activist Sunderlal Bahuguna, who has become synonymous with the anti-dam movement. Today the agitation is limited to the residents' battle for relief and rehabilitation, with major environmental issues left unresolved, stuck as they are in the quagmire of politics, corruption and ignorance.

The project