The people of Maletha village have alleged that the State Government is harassing them for having non-violently opposed establishment of the five stone crushers sanctioned to operate in their area. Stating that protest leader Sameer Raturi had continued his hunger-strike on the seventh day in the jail on Sunday, the villagers stressed that they will continue non-political movement against destructive exploitation of the State’s forest, land and water. Well known folk singer Narendra Singh Negi expressed his support to the cause of the villagers and assured his involvement when asked for on future occasions. He was speaking at a programme organised by Citizens For Green Doon (CFGD) to felicitate the residents of Maletha for their efforts and to elicit focus on their situation.
Appreciating the apolitical public movement undertaken by Maletha residents to protect the environment, Negi said that pressure needs to be applied for release of Sameer Raturi. The villagers had undertaken the Maletha agitation with the main aim of protecting the environment, not for ulterior personal gains, said Negi. Maletha resident Nanda Negi said that the authorities had framed the villagers on trumped up charges- even septuagenarian village women. She said, “When we had met chief minister Harish Rawat last year, he had assured us that the cases against villagers involved in the protest would be withdrawn but the State Government has not kept its word. Sameer’s hunger strike in jail entered its seventh day on Sunday considerably weakening his physical condition.”
Sameer’s father Jagdamba Prasad Raturi said that scores of villagers who had protested against establishment of the stone crushers had been booked on false charges. Citing the historical significance of Maletha village and its environmental wealth, he stressed that the public movement was not fueled by political ambitions but for protecting the environment. Stating that the authorities were not allowing them to meet Sameer in jail, he also said that the report of inquiry by Tehri CDO on orders of the Garhwal commissioner regarding the alleged misbehavior with women during the protest should be made public.
Other villagers including Vimla Devi,Bachan Singh, Khem Singh and Bhupati Rana among others also addressed the gathering, stating that more than 40 villagers had received summons. They accused the government of harassment stating that the villagers had been charged falsely under various sections. Questioning the government’s motive in pursuing legal action months after the public movement, they also lambasted MlAs of the region for remaining apathetic towards the people and their issues. Stating that Sameer’s remand was to end on March 2, they reiterated that they will not seek bail while demanding that the CM order withdrawal of the cases against them.
CFGD chief coordinator Dr Nitin Pandey said that after the Chipko movement, the Maletha movement is probably the only such struggle by the villagers to save the environment which succeeded in making the government change its decision in the interests of the public. Nidhi Aswal of Himalaya Bachao Andolan extolled the villagers for their movement which was neither fund driven nor politically motivated. The environment and villages can be saved through essential ground work, she added.
