Tehri work on

despite stiff opposition from many corners, three panels each of two diversion tunnels of the controversial 2,400 megawatt Tehri hydel project were closed in the presence of the district magistrate and top officials of the Tehri Hydro Development Corporation (thdc) on December 1, 2001.

Earlier, the tunnels were to be closed in March 2001. But due to mounting pressure from Vishwa Hindu Parishad (vhp), the Union government was forced to set up a high-powered review committee to look into the matter. The officials of thdc say that the first phase of the Tehri dam, scheduled to be commissioned in March 2002, has now been postponed to March 2003.