Seepage from the Koteshwar dam across the Bhagirathi in Tehri district has intensified protests by the local people against the 400-MW project. They allege leak of water through several cracks on the dam wall.

District Magistrate Yugal Kishore Pant, who visited the dam site on Tuesday, said: “There is slight seepage from the dam, but it is under construction. The process of grouting is under way and there is nothing to worry.”

Jyoti Prasad, who lives near the site, said, “The seepage from several places in the dam is evident, but the authorities continue to deny it.”

The villages in the vicinity are already facing land sinking, and seepage poses an additional threat.

“There are several leakages from the main wall of the dam and it has become a threat to the downstream villages and areas such as Devprayag and Rishikesh,” Mr. Prasad said.

However, the dam authorities denied the allegations and made counter-charges against the protesters.

H.L. Arora, General Manager, Tehri Dam, said, “Villagers are diverting attention because they want compensation for collateral damage from the dam construction. They are protesting to get contracts and jobs in the dam, but we can’t appease everyone.” The dam, a project of the Tehri Hydro Development Corporation and part of the Tehri Power Complex, produces electricity and regulates water released from the Tehri reservoir for irrigation. The dam is 22 kilometres downstream of the Tehri dam.