Concerned over the effect on public health and the environmental impact of a hot mixing plant being set up here, the residents of Manai Danmi village in Joshimath block staged a protest demonstration at Patalganga in Chamoli district on Sunday. Apart from the environmental and public health impact, the protesting villagers—many of them women — alleged falsification of the land rights documents while also pointing out that the close proximity of the said mixing plant to the local school and residential area will exert a detrimental effect on the environment and health of the villagers. The villagers also complained that the plant was being constructed at this site without the authorities concerned reaching an agreement with the villagers. The local elected public representative has also joined the villagers in opposing the setting up of the hot mixing plant.
Staging a sit-in at the site in the Patalganga valley, the protesting villagers pointed out that the site where the hot-mixing plant is coming up is in close proximity of a school and residential area. In addition to the public health issue and the potential for environmental damage, the villagers have also alleged that falsification had been carried out of the land record in order to facilitate the setting up of the hot mixing plant here. They alleged that the Khatauni (land record) has been falsified to enable construction of the said mixing plant at the present site instead of constructing it at the designated site. Standing in solidarity with the villagers in opposition of the plant, the Joshimath Block Pramukh, Prakash Rawat said that the location of the hot mixing plant in a residential area where a school is also located, may result in causing damage to the local ecology and health of the villagers. The Pramukh further stressed that in this case, he stands with the local villagers supporting their opposition to establishment of the hot mixing plant. While the Manai Danmi villagers maintain their strong objection, it now remains to be seen whether the local administration takes the effective and concrete action being demanded by the local residents in the coming days.