Organisers spend 2 years getting details of oustees, share memories at Athmeeya Sammelanam after 40 years
Adilabad: After 40 years of displacement, nearly 400 families from Old Thoyaguda — submerged by the Sathnala irrigation project — reunited at the riverbed on February 10 and shared their memories.
The poignant gathering, the third annual “Athmeeya Sammelanam,” drew oustees now scattered across 28 villages in Adilabad district and even parts of Maharashtra. Old Thoyaguda — once located in Bela mandal is now part of the newly formed Sathnala mandal.
Organisers spent two years tracking down oustee families now scattered across 28 villages in Adilabad district and even into neighbouring Maharashtra, where some relocated using compensation money received for their submerged lands.
Elders who were children at the time of evacuation revisited the remnants of their past, including the old school and Hanuman temple that sometimes resurface when water levels recede. Many became wistful, recalling life before their village in Bela mandal — now Sathnala mandal — vanished beneath the reservoir after its foundation was laid in 1978 by then Chief Minister Jalagam Vengalarao.
Gaddala Shankar, who evacuated from Old Thoyaguda at age 18 and is now 59, recalled the emotional reunion: “Meeting my childhood friends and fellow villagers after so many years has brought immense relief.” He noted that many oustees did not receive fair compensation after their village was submerged following the project’s foundation laid on December 17, 1978, by the late chief minister.
Families reminisced about the 1,000-household village and its 10 hamlets perched in hilly terrain. Elderly women like Kurma Mallakka who settled in Sundaragiri, Chakali Pochakka of Mangoorla, Adapa Chennakak of Laxmipur village of Jainad mandal and Kyatham Lasmakka of Badi village, Gaddala Bhoodevi, Avula Chennakka of Maruguda, and Adapa Chennakka of Laxmipur village in Jainad mandal and Adapa Suganda of Padharkawada of Maharashtra described the reunion as a long-awaited comfort. Mallakka said she “never thought of meeting old friends again,” adding that reconnecting with fellow villagers eased her lingering pain.
