Over 234-km ring road for Tehri Lake on cards: U'khand CS
Dehradun: The picturesque Tehri lake would soon have an over 230-km-long ring road for bolstering the rural development in the region which also has a huge potential of becoming an upcoming international tourism destination in Uttarakhand.
Tehri dam (1000 MW capacity) is the country's highest dam and fourth highest dam in the world. Uttarakhand Chief Secretary Om Prakash told the Millennium Post that the ring road project is CM's one of the top priority projects.
"I have directed officials to get a feasibility study of the area to explore the tourism potential and technical aspects of the project since the road is of over 234 km," said the CS.
The dam is on the Bhagirathi river which cuts its path through the Himalayas and flows a distance of over 234 km from Gaumukh and transverses through two districts--Uttarkashi and Tehri–to reach Devprayag confluence where another head stream, Alaknanda river, joins to form Holy Ganga and flow to Haridwar.
The state government also has a plan of setting up a state-of-the-art water adventure sport facility at the Tehri lake to attract tourists from across the country.
After the feasibility study, the state government would float tenders for the construction of the ring road. "The main plan is likely to include road widening, beautification, and linking of the existing roads of the region. The feasibility study would look at all the aspects including the traffic flow, carrying capacity of the road and explore the tourism potential," said district magistrate, Mangesh Ghildiyal.
A local social worker, Anil Rawat said, "The ring road must have designated spots for developing sunset boulevards and food courts offering Pahadi cuisine and outlets of organic products and handicraft for tourists coming to Tehri dam. At present the Tehri lake region lacks facilities to woo tourists who come during the Char Dham Yatra season."
The Tehri dam has a unique design–an earth and rock fill–and its spillway system consists of chute spillway and an underground power house system with four Turbine/Generator sets of 250 MW each (1000 MW capacity). In 2006, Tehri Hydro Development Corporation (THDC) commissioned the project.
