The people in Talla Uppu village in Tehri district, celebrated their last Janmashtami in their village on Tuesday.
Lighting earthen lamps, dozens of villagers gathered at the village to offer prayers to Lord Krishna on the occasion of Janmashtami as more villages began submerging into the monstrous Tehri dam reservoir whose water level has been rising menacingly during the past one month.

Like several villages which have already sunk, Talla Uppu will also enter into its watery grave soon.
“We prayed to God that all those people, who were uprooted due to the Tehri dam, should live in peace and prosperity,” said Harish Bist, the village head. Large parts of Talla  Uppu are now sinking following heavy rains in the catchment area.

Villagers also offered milk in the river Bhagirathi which has now taken the shape of a 45-km long water body. With the water level of Tehri reservoir touching 808 metres, the dam authorities have already sounded an alert saying many more villages would now submerge into the reservoir.

Last month, villages like Chham, Bariyani and Bandrakoti went into the Tehri dam dislodging dozens of people, whose houses also went into the water. “Now the Chham market area is also sinking into the water,” said Bist.
Danger

Tehri dam has already submerged the 188-year-old historic Tehri town along with scores of other villages like Kandal and Mali Deval that uprooted hundreds of people.

The Centre spent Rs 8,000 crore on the construction and rehabilitation work of Tehri dam so far. However, the problem of rehabilitation is still far from over.

Official sources said Chief Minister B C Khanduri would urge the Centre to provide a new rehabilitation package for Tehri dam oustees.