‘Only way out for ousted is to plant trees’

With the submergence of the forest cover under the Tehri hydel dam project complete, environmentalist Sunder Lal Bahugauna — crusading since the last 20 years for the rehabilitation of the estimated 1.5 lakh displaced people of Uttranchal, today said that the only solution now was to engage the displaced in planting trees on the barren slopes of Himalayas.

The silt in Bhagirathi has been the highest and the dam’s life would be shorter than expected, Bahuguna said. ‘‘The only solution now, after the completion of the project, is to involve the displaced people in planting trees on the slopes of the Himalayas for water and environmental conservation,’’ he added.

He along with Dr. Anil Joshi of Himalayan Environmental Studies and Conservation Organisation (HESCO), have demanded for a people’s referendum on the power projects, which are in the pipeline. Several other power projects are already in the pipeline. ‘‘In the quest for development, we have turned Ganga into a dead river,’’ he claimed.

Bahuguna shaved off his beard on October 29, when the last tunnel of the dam was closed. ‘‘I shaved my beard as per Hindu rites on the death of mother Ganga,’’ he said.