“The plaster has come off the slope of the Raika hills above Tunnel number 3,” says S K Sharma, general manager of Tehri Hydel Development Corporation (THDC). Some say it is just the plaster that has cracked open.
The mountainface on which the crack has appeared had already been subjected to strengthening procedures such as rock-bolting (inserting rock bolts into rocks) and grouting (injecting cement slurry into fissured or permeable rocks). Mired in controversy for over a decade, the 2,400-megawatt dam on the Bhagirathi river, which merges into the Ganga downstream, was meant to supply power and water to north Indian towns and cities, including Delhi. For experts, who had warned that the dam may be damaged due to the seismic activity in Tehri Himalayan foothills, the crack appears as a supporting evidence. Several non-official experts link it to the unstable nature of the rocks and warn of possible future damage due to earthquakes. However, it is not known how deep the crack is. The dam authorities dismiss it as a mere construction error.
An L-shaped crack has appeared on the rocky surface above one of the tunnels leading to the dam’s power house.
A CRACK on a mountainface forming part of the reservoir of the controversial Tehri dam in Garhwal, Uttar Pradesh, has once again cleaved expert opinion on the Himalayan dam’s safety.
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