Meant to be a step forward towards facilitating the much needed scientific waste management system, the foundation laying of the Dehradun municipal corporation’s waste treatment plant and landfill at Shishambada deteriorated into a fracas with stone pelting on Dehradun Mayor Vinod Chamoli’s vehicle and violent protest by locals and others.
One of the locals also succumbed to a cardiac arrest which was exploited by rabble rousers spreading the rumour of the Mayor being responsible for the fatality. With stone-pelting protesters targeting the Mayor causing damage to his vehicle, the police somehow managed to take him to a safer location nearby.
It should be mentioned here that after the recent announcement of the date for foundation laying for the waste treatment plant, groups of locals and their “supporters” also including some local Congress politicians congregated at the designated site on Monday morning.
Chief Minister Harish Rawat who was also slated to be present at the laying of the foundation stone for the waste treatment plant at Shishambada but kept away considering the clearly expressed opposition of locals in the past. Urban Development Minister Pritam Singh Panwar too kept away from the site on learning of protest demonstration being undertaken by people including some local politicians.
Pursuing the execution of the long-awaited solid waste management facility for about eight years now, the Mayor Vinod Chamoli arrived at Shishambada for the foundation stone laying and after learning of his arrival, the protesting locals confronted him with some rioting and pelting stones at the mayor’s vehicle damaging portions of it.
The police deployed for the occasion, resorted to the use of “moderate” force to disperse the crowd to prevent the situation from escalating and to bring it under control. Rajpur
Road MlA Rajkumar who was also present on the occasion, participated in the brief foundation laying ceremony along with the mayor.
It is pertinent to mention here that while residents of the trenching ground along Sahastradhara Road have been protesting about continued dumping of waste at that site, those living in the Shishambada have been opposing the setting up of the waste treatment plant in the area of their residence.
The political and non-political groups opposing the location aver that the land in question allocated for the waste treatment plant is registered in the revenue records categorised as Asan river submerged land under Section 132 of the Zamindari Abolition Act since 1894 till the current allocation year 2008 starting from Gautam Kund Chandramani to Kulhal where it merges into the Yamuna river.
On the other hand, observers point out that those involved in illegal land plotting in the area and a couple of private higher educational institutions in the area have been funding opposition being demonstrated against the project location.