Incessant rain has put the Tehri dam under tremendous threat with water levels in the reservoir crossing the 828.85 metre mark.
This is seven metres above its normal strength. Once the water level crosses the 830-metre danger mark, the automatic discharge system will get activated and this could lead to heavy flooding downstream in the holy cities of Rishikesh and Hardwar.
Tehri dam officials warn that the water level is likely to cross the 830-metre mark by midnight.
Already, Har Ki Pauri, the most sacred of the ghats, is submerged with the Ganga flowing way above the danger mark. More than 60 villages have been swept away in the region.
The local district administration, led by Tehri district manager Radhika Jha, claims that there is no need to panic as villagers from eight villages have been shifted to higher ground. But Tehri dam officials are unconvinced and feel that incessant rains are creating a dangerous situation with the flood threat looming over the villages located on the banks of the Bhagirathi and Alakananda.
Water in the Koteshwar dam located about 10 km downstream is also above the danger mark, though the Tehri dam’s general manager (projects) A.L. Shah said, "The dam is safe and there is no need to worry."
Several contingents of the National Disaster Rapid Force are assisting in evacuating the villagers and move them to safer locations.
Hundreds of people have been left marooned in the pilgrimage centres of Rishikesh and Hardwar with many trains cancelled as water has entered the rail tracks in several places near Haridwar and Dehra Dun.
The maintenance of the Upper Ganga Canal is turning out to be a challenge with water flowing out into the roads.
The chief ministerof Uttarakhand and senior BJP leader Sushma Swaraj spoke to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Sunday, asking him to intervene and help the state tide over the grim situation.