CM criticised of not fulfilling assurance

Despite the assurance of Chief Minister Harish Rawat to the delegation of people and Sameer Raturi, who are now staging stir against the operation of stone crushers in Maletha and adjoining areas of Tehri district, no order of cancellation has been issued so far. The Chief Minister said the order would be issued in three days. But five days have been passed since Rawat had given the assurance and the order remained elusive, said the agitators. 

They staged demonstration in Maletha on Friday. The protest rally started from Kirtinagar with the participants carrying the effigy of Cabinet Minister Mantri Prasad Naithani. The effigy had been kept in Maletha for four days.Sounding annoyed with the assurance not being fulfilled, Sameer Raturi who has been staging hunger strike on the emotive issue for the past 23 days said that the Chief Minister should not play into the hands of some unscrupulous Ministers at the expense of the public interests.

Throwing dare to the State Government, he said it must make public the court order that was supposed to have been issued on the matter. “Supporting the mafias and the PDF Ministers dangling court order is unjust. The hunger strike will continue till the demands are met,” he said.However, State Health Minister who has spoken to the agitators said the Chief Minister would act on his assurance. The agitators said Rawat was fumbling as two of his Ministers -Mantri Prasad Naithani and Dinesh Dhanee - were shielding stone crushers from any adverse Government action.

A section of the society, however, says that in case the operation of the stone crushers is totally stopped in the hill areas construction cost of houses would go up and the people would have difficulty to collect construction materials.The environmentalists opined that permission for stone crushers should be given strictly under norms and keeping in mind its effects on environment.