Finally, public win the fight

The marathon struggle of more than eleven months by the villagers of Maletha and various adjoining gram panchayats of Tehri district against the operation of stone crushers ended with the activists receiving the ‘rectified cancellation order’ for two stone crushers issued by the Sub-Divisional Magistrate of Kirtingar on Sunday.

The indefinite hunger strike by Sameer Raturi and six local women against the stone crushers also ended on Sunday amidst a celebratory atmosphere among the locals.The hunger strikers drank water and fruit juice offered by the SDM and social worker Dinesh Bhatt to end their hunger strike on Sunday while two women activists Sushila Bisht and Vimla Negi ended their hunger strike in presence of Chief Minister Harish Rawat during meeting with the Chief Minister in Dehradun. 

The Chief Minister had assured the delegation from Maletha that the cancellation order for Devendra Datt Baluni stone crusher and Satyam Shivam stone crusher in Maletha would be issued in the language akin to the cancellation orders for five stone crushers issued earlier.Save Himalaya Movement member Sameer Raturi appreciated all those who supported the struggle of the people of Maletha and adjoining areas, stressing that it was the victory of the public fighting for environmental conservation. 

He said this development would discourage the mining and land mafia apart from the authorities from facilitating activities detrimental to the people and environment in the name of development.Maletha Gram Pradhan and convenor of Maletha Sangharsh Samiti, Suryaveer Singh Bisht told The Pioneer the delegation that met the Chief Minister had asked him to issue the cancellation order for remaining two stone crushers in the language used in the cancellation orders for other crushers. 

Rawat had assured the delegation that rectified cancellation orders would be issued by the State authorities while asking the protesters to end their hunger strike. Suryaveer Singh Bisht thanked the Chief Minister for accepting the demands of the protesting villagers against stone crushers in the area. 

It is pertinent to mention here that Maletha and its adjoining areas are known to be traditionally fertile farming areas and the locals were strongly opposed to operation of stone crushers in the area as that would prove detrimental to soil fertility and agriculture in the region.