Gopeshwar, Dec 12 (PTI) Battling the bitter cold, residents of Dumak, a remote village in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli district, sat on a hunger strike for the fourth consecutive day outside the district magistrate’s office here to demand road connectivity to their village.
“The demand for a road to the village has been raised on various platforms over the four decades. All we have got is assurances from the authorities,” Babita Devi, a participant of the protest told PTI.
In June 2022, the Chief Election Commissioner, Rajiv Kumar, trekked to Dumak to inspect the polling booth.
He spoke with locals about the daily challenges they face in commuting and assured them that the district magistrate (DM) would visit the village and address the issue within a month.
“It took four to six months for the DM to visit and the road is still a distant dream,” Babita Devi added.
The villagers have also formed a struggle committee (Sangharsh Samiti) to press for their demand.
Prem Singh Sanwal, convener of the Sangharsh Samiti, said that for the past four decades the villagers have been demanding road connectivity.
In 2007-08, a 33-kilometer road was approved to connect several villages between Gopeshwar and Dumak, he said.
The road was to be constructed from Sanji Laga Maikot to Dumak-Kalgoth via Syoon village, Sanwal said.
While construction began after receiving forest and environmental clearances, this road has not reached our village even after almost two decades, Sanwal said.
Till 2015, only nine kilometers of the road had been completed, costing over Rs 12 crore, he said, adding that the work was then handed over to another company at a new rate, but they too failed to finish it.
“This is the first road whose alignment has been changed by officials three times for their convenience, and it still remains incomplete,” Sanwal said, adding that officials were now talking about a new alignment for the road and approving another statement.
Local geologists, scientists from Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology to NGRI Hyderabad have surveyed the place, but construction is not being done, he added.
Rajendra Singh, president of the Sangharsh Samiti, stated that they have been protesting for the road for a long time. “Earlier, we fought a long battle in Jyotirmath, but the solution is still nowhere in sight,” he said.
Last month also, the villagers went on strike over the issue. PTI Corr ALM ALM ARD ARD ARD
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