Opposing the inclusion of 35 gram panchayats of Raipur area under the jurisdiction of Municipal Corporation of Dehradun, representatives of Panchayat led by the district panchayat head Chaman Singh protested at the campus of Municipal Corporation on Tuesday.
Notably, there are 64 gram panchayats, 40 Kshetra Panchayat and five district panchayats under Raipur Block that comprises both plain and mountainous parts. People residing in the plains earn their living through agriculture and horticulture. The agitators alleged that these areas under Raripur block are being neglected by the successive state governments. Funds are not released in time by the state administration, they said, adding that the areas they are inhabiting being included in the jurisdiction of the Municipal Corporation would land them in more hardships. “In the past, a few gram panchayats were included in the jurisdiction of Municipal Corporation. But no developmental work as promised ensued. This inclusion is thus no solution,” said one of the agitators.
They threatened to intensify their stir in the coming days in case the administration remains adamant on it. Among those present at the protest site were Raipur Block Pramukh Beena Bahuguna and panchayat members- Surat Singh Negi, Rajesh Parmar, Guddi Devi, Vijay lakshmi, Ashwani Bahuguna, Sangeeta Solanki and Abhishek Pant.