Sirmaur's Hattee community holds protest for ST status

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Solan, March 2

The Hattee community of trans-Giri area of Sirmaur today stepped up its fight for obtaining scheduled tribe (ST) status for their community by holding peaceful protests at various sub-divisions in Sirmaur district.

Successive state governments have been promising this status to the 144 panchayats of the trans-Giri area for decades. Though a move was initiated in 2016 by the Kendriya Hattee Samiti (KHS) it was rejected by the Office of the Registrar General of India.

The community members handed over memorandums to the SDMs at Paonta Sahib where a protest rally was taken out from Y-point to the SDM’s office under the leadership of Atar Singh Negi. The leaders, while addressing the gathering, demanded the government to grant them the ST status within four months failing which they warned that their agitation could be intensified.

The Hattee leaders have been called for talks by the Chief Minister on March 5.They informed that the next ‘mahakhumbli’, which is community gathering, would be organized in the Aanj Bhoj area of Shillai.

A rally was also taken out by the Shillai unit of the community from PWD rest house to SDM Shillai’s office under the leadership of GS Negi.

Another protest rally was taken out at sub-tehsil Ronhat which was led by Pradeep Singta and yet another at Kamrau. Memorandums were handed over to the local officials which were addressed to the Chief Minister as well as the Prime Minister in support of their demand for granting ST status to the Hattee community.