The level of discontent is high among the people of Uttarakhand living in rural mountainous areas with successive State Governments ignoring villages. The Government has focused on increasing its revenue at the cost of Uttarakhand’s villages where the people are yet to benefit from State formation, said environmentalist Anil Joshi while describing the public mood in Uttarakhand’s rural areas. He was addressing people from various parts of Uttarakhand who had gathered after a rally in the Gandhi Park at the conclusion of the Gaon Bachao Yatra under the banner of Himalayan Unity Movement (HUM) which passed through various locations in all the 13 districts.
Joshi said that villagers they had interacted with in different parts of the State are very disappointed with the present state of governance.
He said, “Such is the level of discontent among people in the rural mountainous regions that if the government remains apathetic the people will take to the road to wake the government up. The people feel that 15 years after creation of Uttarakhand, they are yet to benefit from state formation as the government has focused on increasing its own revenue through developments like setting up of a cement plant or a soft drink bottling plant which have no link to the interests of rural society. Society should heed the message from the villages failing which the people risk losing their roots, history and identity. The Government too needs to rethink the planned large hydro power projects like Pancheshwar and Kisau. There is no serious debate in the Vidhan Sabha on the condition of villages or on ensuring the provision of basic facilities in rural areas while much time is devoted to debating policies for mining and liquor. We will now also focus on facilitating empowerment of the Panchayats instead of waiting for disappointing MlAs to facilitate welfare of the rural mountainous areas,” said Joshi.