Garhwal Post Bureau
RISHIKESH, 10 Jan: People staged fresh protests against the Forest Department during the fencing of forest land. Following the Supreme Court orders, the Forest Department has begun erecting wire fencing on land identified in the survey as forest area. Meanwhile, opposition to the department’s actions has intensified. At present, the fencing work has come to a halt immediately after starting due to the protests.
As the Forest Department team arrived with full force at Amit Gram Gali Number 25 to erect wire fencing on the forest land here on Saturday, the people occupying the land gathered to protest. The team from the Forest Department appeared helpless in the face of the opposition. Officials tried to placate the protesters by citing the Supreme Court order, but the locals refused to back down. Women formed the majority among the protesters, who raised slogans and demonstrated against the Forest Department and the government.
The demonstrators claimed that they had purchased the land with their hard-earned money. They have been cultivating it for over five decades. They vowed not to allow the Forest Department to take possession of these lands. For now, the fencing work has stopped right after beginning due to the protests.
Sub-Divisional Officer Anil Rawat commented on the entire matter, stating that a meeting had been held with public representatives the previous day to seek their cooperation. They were informed that the action is being taken in pursuance to the Supreme Court orders and that opposing it in any manner is not appropriate. Yet, people continue to protest.
In the Rishikesh forest land encroachment case, the Supreme Court had directed the Uttarakhand Forest Department to submit a report by January 5. Protests had erupted on December 27 last year, during the Forest Department’s survey work. The protests swelled on December 28, with people blocking the railway track and pelting stones at the police. In connection with the incident, police registered cases against those who blocked the railway track, jammed the national highway, obstructed government work, pelted stones at police, and misbehaved with a woman ranger. The FIRs named some persons allegedly involved in the protest and also included several unidentified persons.
