A. Photographs: Bhagirathi river valley & Tehri Dam site, 1978-1986
NDJ Photograph No. 1
V. Audio Visual, 1978-1993
A. Photographs: Bhagirathi river valley & Tehri Dam site, 1978-1986
Aug-78
In August 1978, this 3.5 km wide landslide near Dabrani blocked the Bhagirathi river for several days, and when the dam burst the huge flood in the river caused havoc downstream destroying several villages and part of Uttarkashi town, apart from roads and bridges near the river. No dam could possibly withstand a flood of such magnitude and, if somehow it could, the reservoir water that would have to be suddenly released would undoubtedly wipe out several towns, such as Rishikesh and Hardwar on the banks of the Ganga without warning, taking an enormous toll of lives.
A. Photographs: Bhagirathi river valley & Tehri Dam site, 1978-1986
May-86
View of Gomukh in May 1986. The source itself of the Bhagirathi is now so turbid and muddy that the name �Cow�s mouth� has ceased to be appropriate for waters of the Ganga that emerged crystal clear only a decade ago.
A. Photographs: Bhagirathi river valley & Tehri Dam site, 1978-1986
May-86
View of the naked mountain-slopes around Bhojbasa, as seen in May 1986. Winter snows bring down avalanches with rubble and debris, without the stabilising influence of natural vegetation, all of which pours into the Bhagirathi and is carried downstream. No artificial dam created by man can survive under such tremendous impact of natural forces in the very unstable middle and inner Himalaya.
A. Photographs: Bhagirathi river valley & Tehri Dam site, 1978-1986
1986
Gomukh in 1986, eight years later-the Gangotri glacier has receded by several meters and is covered with debris from severe erosion on mountain-slopes on either side of the Glacier. The rapid increase in silt-load from its upper reaches must inevitably drastically reduce the life of the Bhagirathi reservoir impounded by the Tehri-Dam.
