Maletha has a legend tagged to it. The saying goes that to ensure water for his village, Vir Shiromani’ Madho Singh Bhandari sacrificed his son and since then, the fields of the village are green. The agriculture land in Maletha sings this saga since. The land is now in the news as the villagers of the area keep staging a stir for over a month to oppose the installation of stone crushers. The people of nine wards are speaking in one voice, vowing to fight the menace threatening their village. The women, who play a major role in any movement with social import in the State, are spearheading agitation from the National Highway.
Five stone crushers- two are currently in operation and three are proposed- being installed in Maletha gram sabha by flouting government norms for the benefit of some leaders and industrialist would wreak havoc with the environment and the agriculture, according to Sameer Raturi, member of Himalay Bachao Movement that is lending support to the villagers on the issue.
The crushers already operating have caused immense harms to environment, health, forest, water sources, plants, agriculture and animals. The setting up of the crushers would further weaken the fragile hills, increasing chances of landslides, he said. Some days ago, on the occasion of Himalay Diwas, several leaders pledged to save the hills. But now they are maintaining an enigmatic silence regarding the threat hanging over the region in the form of the stone crushers, he said.
The setting up of five crushers in the area would not onlty spoil the environment and harm vegetation were idangehofIn Chopadia Tok, the two proposed crushers are now being constructed just 50 meters away from the river and 30 metre away from the villages. This could trigger migration in the coming days. Several families are sounding apprehensive of their future.
One water source, upon which the entire village depends during the summers, is just 40 metre away from the crusher. This shows that the government’s commitment to preserve water resources is just a sham, the environment activists on the protest said. Raturi also pointed out that crusher is an industry and Maletha has no space for industry. The industry should be allowed in barren lands away from green fields and forests.
To acquire land, no- objection of the land owners is a must. However, all these norms were limited on papers here in Maletha, According to the Government norm, one district can have seven crushers. However, if Maletha itself would have five crushers one can imagine how many more would come up in the district. The Tehri district has big rivers like Alaknanda, Bhagirathi, Bhilanga and Ganga, which are good for these crushers. However, the crushers would just help some industrialists and investors at the expense of the common people and their natural living style, Raturi said.
