People under the banner of the eco-sensitive zone 'Virodhi Sangharsh Samiti' staged demonstration here threatening to oppose upcoming Corbett Mahotsav in case their long pending demands are not fulfilled.
Raising their demands including protection from the wild animals, opening of the Ramnagar-Kalagarh-Kotdwar Road, conversion of forest villages into revenue villages to name a few, the protesters handed over a memorandum to senior Congress leader and Garhwal MP Satpal Maharaj on Friday. leading the protest rally a senior member of the eco-sensitive zone 'Virodhi Sangharsh Samiti, Prabhat Dhyani, asserted that "in case the Government doesn't listen to our long-pending demands, the people of this region would oppose the upcoming Corbett Mahotsav in Ramnagar."
"The matter of concern is that people have to live here in a very difficult scenario following the wildlife menace. We have been demanding from the Government for so many years at least to take some security measures so that a sense of security could be established in this Corbett region. But nothing has been done. In case no step is taken in this regard, we would organise a 'jan panchayat' here on September 30 and decide our future course of action," Dhyani said.
"If need be, we would not hesitate to intensify our stir," asserted the protestors. Meanwhile, the Garhwal MP maintained that opposing Corbett Mahotsav is not right thing at a time when the mountain state is passing through a bad phase due to the natural disaster. "Such programmes like the Corbett Mahotsav can go a long way in reviving the tourism sector in the State. Therefore, all should come forward for successful conduct of this event," he added.