The closure of the T-3 and T-4 tunnels of the dam on Wednesday night have only worsened the situation. The place is agog with rumours of all sorts — that the bridge linking the town to the rest of the country would be closed, that the telephone exchange and the post office would also be closed within the next few days.

The residents reacted by taking to streets to protest against these moves. The impatient crowd was later reassured by the district administration that no such orders have been issued. But no one in Tehri is willing to believe.

There is an air of uncertainty all around. Shops and business establishments in the town have already been either sealed or razed by the administration. No one is allowed to run businesses within a radius of seven kilometres of the town.

But people have found alternatives. They have started operating from their homes or from the narrow lanes of the town to sell items of daily use and groceries. Basic amenities are slowly dwindling and medicines and other essential goods are also becoming scarce.

At first glance, Tehri is not a town where people would want to continue living. But before deserting the town forever landlords, shop keepers and other residents are fighting tooth and nail to ensure that they are adequately compensated.

"The residents have finally realised that the dam would be constructed at all costs. They now want to ensure that they are not cheated of their due and that basic facilities like telephone and electricity are not discontinued till the last possible minute when the town actually submerges a few months from now," said Ramanand Bhatt, a 61-year-old resident.

People here also fear a change in social structure, lifestyles and culture in their new habitats. "The New Tehri town where most us will be rehabilitated is situated at a height of nearly 2000 metres above sea level, whereas Tehri is located at only 640 metres. Other facilities like schools, colleges, banks and government offices, which were earlier located within walking distance would now be situated kilometers away," said a resident.

Bimla Devi Bahuguna, wife of prominent environmentalist Sunderlal Bahuguna alleges that instead of being sympathetic to the residents of the town and compensating them adequately, the authorities are exerting pressure on them to leave the town.

Both Bahuguna and his wife are to be shifted by the district authorities to a higher altitude as the hut where they spent the past 12 years fighting against the construction of the dam is likely to get submerged by the surging waters of the Bhagirathi soon.

When the town, set up in 1815 by Maharaja Sudarshan Shah as the Capital of the Shah Dynasty, finally submerges it would prove true the prophecy made by the royal astrologer that Tehri would die after 200 years. The only difference would be that it would happen 13 years prematurely.

(Concluded)