“Can development be carried out by destroying the history of our civilization?”, asks Vijay Kapoor, a resident of Tandi village in Lahaul Spiti district of Himachal Pradesh after the state government gave the goahead to a hydro power project at Tandi, the confluence of Chandra and Bhaga rivers.

The 104 MW hydro power project in the basin of Chandra- Bhaga rivers, which gives birth to Chandrabhaga or Chenab river, will submerge the Sangam ghat, believes Kapoor and other locals of surrounding 35 villages who have united against its construction.

He said the state government and Union Tourism Ministry had announced to construct ghats at Sangam in 2017 but now the state government (on 23 December 2020) had given go ahead for a power project at the place.

“Tandi panchayat has passed a resolution against the construction of the project and other panchayats of Goshal and Tholang will follow suit,” he added. Chander Mohan Parasheera, who was behind reviving the ancient identity of Sangam (confluence) of Chandra and Bhaga rivers at Tandi and Director, Institute of Vocational and Tribal Studies in HP University, said the place is sacred for both Hindus and Budhists living in Lahaul Spiti district.

“The Sangam is considered to be the one of eight Mahashamshans (cremation places) of India which includes Varanasi.

It is believed that Draupadi, wife of Pandavas, breathed her last near the Chandra-Bhaga rivers confluence and her mortal remains were immersed in this river.

The place also finds mention in ancient scriptures of both Hindu and Buddhists as bodies of locals are cremated since centuries. But the go ahead by the state government will lead to submergence of the place where ashes of former Vishva Hindu Parishad chief Ashok Singhal and former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee were immersed,” he added.

Parasheera said earlier, the Aditya Birla Group was allocated the power project at the place but the company abandoned it after it was informed about the cultural and historical importance of the place.

Prem Katoch, the president of Save Lahaul Spiti Society forum, said there was less land for cultivation in the tribal district and many people will be displaced with construction of the hydro power project while their lands will be submerged in the water. “We are not against the state government or development projects in the tribal district but the government should take into account the ecology of the fragile cold desert,” he added. Nowadays, the Save Lahaul Spiti Society forum was uniting and spreading awareness on adverse impacts of hydro power projects in fragile landscapes which were prone to landslides.

“The state government instead should focus on solar and wind energy projects which are also viable in the district.

The soil in Lahaul Spiti is quite fragile as the cold desert receives scanty rainfall and even rains for more than one hour can cause massive landslides. Imagine what would happen if a hydro power project is constructed at the place,” Katoch further stated.

The Sangam at Tandi village in Lahaul Spiti district of Himachal Pradesh is located around 300 km from Shimla at an altitude of 9,400 ft from sea level and it is the confluence point of Chandra and Bhaga rivers that gives birth to Chandrabhaga or Chenab river.