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Hundreds of people from the Kedarghati region of Garhwal came out here today in support of “Save Ganga” agitation started by saints and social activists led by Professor GD Aggarwal and Magsaysay awardee Rajendra Singh.
The people from 30 gram panchayats arrived at Matri Sadan to extend their support to the movement.
Led by social activist Sushila Devi, who carried out a 63-day agitation against the Singholi-Bhatwadi hydro project, these villagers blamed political parties for having a nexus with hydro project companies and builders’ mafia.
Sushila Devi said it seemed the government and private companies were hell-bent on making Uttarakhand a ‘Ujrha Pradesh’ as several kilometres of tunnels are being dug, villages being submerged, water sources being dried up and ecology being disturbed in the name of hydro projects.
“Without a scientific analysis, these companies are digging up the areas forcing us to migrate towards the plain regions. If we don’t have the right to live in hills, then why was this Uttarakhand carved out as a separate state in the name of providing development to hilly districts?” said Sushila.
While Jagmohan Singh, a former ex-Army officer, said 11,000 people were affected due to a single power project while the government was mulling over starting 200 more projects along the Ganga, the Bhagirathi, the Alaknanda, the Pindar river.
Rajendra Singh said the apathy of Centre and the state government had set up the Ganga River Basin Authority while the Ganga was getting polluted.
Matri Sadan founder Swami Shivanand said political parties such as the Uttarakhand Kranti Dal, the Uttarakhand Raksha Morcha, the Uttarakhand Kranti Manch had failed to realise the pollution in the Ganga and woes of Kedarghati people.
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