The construction of Tehri Dam has landed the villagers residing around the lake in problem as the traditional ghats they used to perform the last rites of their near and dear ones have been submerged in the lake. They are now being forced to do the same elsewhere. There were proposals to build new ghats catering to the needs of the villagers. But it is learnt that the official files for the construction of at least 23 ghats at places like Chinyali Saur, Tuliyana, Pitara, Jalku, Kadan, Syalgi, Jakhni Dhar, Bhanso, Dharm Ghat, Zero Bridge, Khandu, Kunjeshwar Mahadev, Tiwad Gaon and Pilkhi Deval Mulani has been gathering dust for the past six years.
Furthermore, two electrical crematoria located in New Tehri that were constructed to cater to the population that had lost its traditional right of cremation grounds due to the formation of the lake are also in a shambles. More often than not they remain non-functional, compounding the woe of the villagers here.Realising their predicament, Tehri Hydro Development authorities decided to construct around 23 ghats on both sides of Bhilangana and Ganga in 2009. But things are standing where they were around six years back.
Activist Rajeshwar Painuly said the villagers are in deep trouble in the absence of the cremation grounds. They are being forced to go elsewhere to perform the last rites of their near relations. Things are such that they go as far as Rishikesh or Haridwar for the same. This costs them extra money. He said the administration must sit up and expedite things regarding the proposals to construct the ghats. Or else a full-blown stir would be staged to make the administration to take note of the villager’s problem, he warned.