Villagers from Dharchula segment demand roads

Amid protests by residents of villages falling in Dharchula Assembly constituency, who are demanding roads and electricity, Uttarakhand Van Vikas Nigam chairperson Harish Dhami has said a scheme is on the cards to link every village of the constituency represented by the state Chief Minister, by motor roads as soon as possible.

Tribune News Service

Pithoragarh, December 13

Amid protests by residents of villages falling in Dharchula Assembly constituency, who are demanding roads and electricity, Uttarakhand Van Vikas Nigam chairperson Harish Dhami has said a scheme is on the cards to link every village of the constituency represented by the state Chief Minister, by motor roads as soon as possible.

During a tour to over a dozen villages of Munsiyari sub-division of the constituency, Dhami realised the problem of lack of motor roads to the interior village of Talla Johar region. He assured the villagers that he would soon talk to the Chief Minister in connection with other problems of the area.

“Besides lack of motor roads to every village, the area faces fuelwood crisis, shortage of teachers in schools and of doctors in hospitals, which will soon be filled,” said Dhami in Mala Ghorpatta village, where he had reached with others.

Dhami said the state government had send a proposal to the Centre to include all the state-listed OBC castes of Dharchula into the union list of such castes, and if the Union Government fails to do so, he would launch an indefinite agitation against the Centre with locals.

Meanwhile, residents of Vyasnagar village of Dharchula today reached the SDM’s office at Dharchula, demanding repair of the motor road from Dharchula town to their village as the road has been closed for five months. “While the area is represented by the state Chief Minister, small problems like roads and electricity connections are not getting solved there,” said Jagat Singh Martolia, a BJP leader in Dharchula.

Villagers of Gila and Rafti villages in Munsiyari sub-division of the constituency today threatened that if they do not get electricity supply soon, they would stage a protest in sub-division headquarters at Dharchula.

“Electricity supply to our villages has been continuously disrupted after the Bhikuria micro hydro-electric scheme, used to supply electricity to these villages, was washed away in the 2013 disaster and villages were linked with the main grid. Our children have been facing problems in their studies after the transformer responsible for supply of electricity to these villages failed last month,” said a villager.