Question

Tehri Dam is expected to generate about ________ megawatts of electricity.
A. 2000 megawatts
B. 2400 megawatts
C. 2800 megawatts
D. 3000 megawatts

Answer 1

Hint: Tehri Dam is the tallest dam in India and the tenth highest dam in the world with a height of 855 ft. It is located on Bhagirathi River in Uttarakhand. It is the first multipurpose river valley project on the river Bhagirathi, which is the main tributary of Ganga.

Complete step-by-step solution:
The length of the Tehri dam is 1,886 ft, with a crest width of 66 ft and base width being 3,701 ft. The reservoir created by the dam is 2,100,000 sq ft with a surface area of 20 sq m. 1000 MW is the installed hydro capacity along with an additional 1000 MW of pumped-storage hydroelectricity. The Tehri Pumped Storage Hydroelectric Power Plant and the Tehri Dam are part of the Tehri Dam Hydropower Complex which also includes the 400 MW Koteshwar Dam. The total is 2,400 MW.
Majorly, there are three issues relating to the construction of the Tehri Dam. First is the issue of Human rights. In order to construct the Tehri Dam, many people were forcefully displaced from their homes. Around 1 lakh people are estimated to have been affected directly or indirectly by the construction of this dam. There was no resettlement plan for these people, some were given compensation and some were not and others had nothing.
The second issue is concerned with the Environmental impact of this multipurpose valley project. The design of the dam was finalized in 1972 when the scientific understanding of seismic engineering solutions and hazards were far less advanced than the present times. The dam is said to withstand an earthquake of $8.4$ magnitudes, but some seismologists claim that the region could face an earthquake of $8.5$ magnitudes or more since it is an earthquake-prone region. If the dam fails, then numerous towns would be submerged whose population total is estimated to be around half a million.
The third issue is the issue relating to the financial viability of the project. The overall construction cost of the dam is US $2.5$ billion. This cost is estimated to be twice the expected benefits of the dam.

Thus, option (B) is correct.

Note: Environmental activist Sunderlal Bahuguna led the Anti-Tehri protests. He also started 74 days fast against the construction of the Tehri dam.