To provide an emotive touch to the ongoing movement demanding Gairsain be declared as the permanent capital of the State, members of Gairsain Rajdhani Nirman Abhiyan (GRNA) begged alms from the people for the cause while rallying from Gandhi Park to Clock Tower in Dehradun on Thursday. They also staged a sit-in at Gandhi Park as part of the movement being organised on the emotive issue of the shift of the capital from Dehradun to Gairsain.
They said they had taken to begging in protest against some Ministers of the BJP-helmed State Government attributing fund constrain to the delay in the shift of the capital from the plains to the Hills. “Even Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat was heard saying to the electronic media that the State Government is hardly in a position to shift the capital given the fact that the process involves a huge fund,” said Sachin Thapliyal, one of the agitators.
He added they will deposit the sum collected through alms to the apparently fund-strapped State Government to help it come out of the financial constraints.
Other agitators said that they would no longer allow the State Government to vacillate on the matter. “Enough is enough. We have been waiting since the time the State was carved out of Uttar Pradesh way back in 2000. Our patience is wearing thin with things being made to hang fire for years,” said an agitator.
They said they will take out a Jan Chetna rally from Aaraghar police post to the Vidhan Sabha campus in Dehradun on March 18 in support of the demand. “We would gherao the Chief Minister, Ministers and MlAs if the State Government fails to declare Gairsain the permanent capital of the State by March 20,” Devendra Negi, an agitator, warned.
Prakash Gaur, another protester, said they would not rest till things are taken to their logical conclusion. “The stir would continue across the State and it would turn into a full-blown movement at Gairsain during the Budget Session of the State Assembly. A sea of humanity will flood Gairsain on the opening day of the Session. The demand if met would help the people of both Garhwal and Kumaon regions as Gairsain is a centrally located place,” he added.