Various organisations have jointly started a poster campaign focusing on damage to Pandukeshwar village due to the calamity exacerbated by dams in Uttarakhand. This campaign will be held near all the Char Dham shrines to raise awareness among pilgrims about the damage wreaked by dams during the floods in June last year in the State.
Vimal Bhai of Matu Jansangthan said that this poster campaign is aimed at informing the tourists and spread awareness across the nation about the negative impact of dams which exacerbated the damage wreaked by the disaster last year. Pandukeshwar village is where lord Badrinath is worshipped during winter when the Badrinath shrine is closed to the public. He said, “Pandukeshwar sustained considerable damage in June 2013 due to floods caused by the Vishnuprayag dam which is just seven kilometres upstream of the village. The slogan for this campaign is 'Give Protection from Dams, Promote Community Based Tourism'. The campaign will also emphasise on year round tourism. During winter, the presiding deities of Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamunotri are worshipped at Pandukeshwar, Ukhimath, Mukhba and Kharsali villages respectively. The campaign will aim to encourage tourism to these villages in winter.”
He added that the Central and State governments have kept silent on the roles of the dams in the disaster. “The State Government is spending money on its own terms. People living in villages in the Ganga valley are still suffering from the negative impacts of dams. In the parliamentary elections, none of the political parties dared to speak on this issue and deliberately tried to distract public attention by escalating irrelevant issues. We will bring out all these issues in front of the nation through this movement,” stressed Vimal Bhai.