More than four months after a communal clash engulfed Atali village in Haryana’s Ballabhgarh, the residents of two communities in the village have resolved their issues and are now ready to live peacefully together.
The members of both communities of village Atali had called on Haryana Chief Minister Manohar lal on Monday to thank him for getting their issue resolved mutually and peacefully.
Greeting the villagers on the occasion of Diwali, the Chief Minister while addressing them announced a sum of Rs one crore for various development works of the village.
He also announced that they would get additional Rs 11 lakh in case, they elect the village Panchayat unanimously.
Also, the road from village Atali to Arua would be made pucca at a cost of Rs one crore. Compensation has already been given to the affected people of the village said the Chief Minister adding that directions have also been given to the concerned officers to also assess the loss caused to the vehicles during the incident so that they could also be compensated accordingly.
Stating that the people of village Atali, Ballabhgarh in district Faridabad has set an example of unity, harmony and brotherhood for others to follow, the Chief Minister exhorted the people of the State to always remain united and contribute in the development of State.
He expressed happiness that the people of the village have taken the pledge to live together and hoped that they would set a unique example of peace and brotherhood in the State.
He added that besides the Government efforts, wholehearted cooperation of people could help in easily resolving such issues. Manohar lal urged the people of the village to always remain united thus taking the State further on the path of development.
The Chief Minister also appreciated the efforts of the members of the Shanti Committee constituted to amicably resolve the issue.
Notably, the first incident of violence in the Atali village on May 25 reportedly saw almost 2000 heavily-armed men allegedly setting fire to homes and shops of minorities in the village over disputed land where a Mosque was to come up. After the incident, more than 300 people from minority community left the village in panic and camped at the Ballabhgarh Police Station for several days.
After the May 25 incident of violence, the riot-hit Atali village once again flared up in July after people of two communities pelted stones at each other. Following the communal clashes, Faridabad district administration had imposed Section 144 in the village and a large number of police personnel had been deployed in and around the village.
Since this was the second incident of violence, the National Commission for Minorities (NCM) had expressed concerns over the volatile situation in the village and also apprized the Home Ministry about the situation.
The Union Ministry had then issued directions to the State Government to take necessary steps to bring the situation under control in the village.