Displaced due to Tehri dam, land of couple usurped

Ajay Ramola

Tribune News Service

Mussoorie, July 28

Pramod Kumar Raturi, 48, a resident of Sirain Godi village in Jua Patti, is mentally challenged and his wife is both mentally and physically challenged, though partially. They have a daughter aged 18 who is studying in Chamba.

The family with so many difficulties fall under the ambit of dam affected or ousted persons. The government had given them land to compensate them for the loss of land in their village 12 years ago but not its possession. However, they have not been able to build the house of their dreams till date as the land mafia has usurped the land while the authorities concerned look the other way.

The Rehabilitation Department had allocated around 2,000 square metre of land to Dharmanand at Kargi Chowk in Dehradun in lieu of his land in the village but when measured it was short by 484 sq mt. The land mafia has usurped the land of the hapless family.

The department neither provided Dharmanand his fair share of land allotted 12 years ago nor its possession. Dobra Chanti Pul Banao Sangarsh Samiti chief coordinator Rajesh Painuli supporting his cause said it was shameful that the land the department gave Dharmanand less land and did not even tried to get it vacated by the land mafia.

Painuli said Dahramanand had written letters to even to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who had directed the authorities concerned to do the needful but nothing had been done so far. He is at present living in a house at Chamba that was built by his late parents. Officials had only given him false assurances.

He appealed to the government on behalf of the troubled family to help him get the rightful possession of his land so that he could construct a house for his beleaguered family.