Jaisinghpur residents protest allotment of historic playground land for govt buildings

Hundreds of residents of Jaisinghpur town, located 40 km from Palampur, decided to lodge a protest over the proposed move of the state government to allocate land within the historic Jaisinghpur playground for the construction of government buildings. The agitated residents comprising senior citizens and women demanded a complete ban on all construction activities in the playground, which was developed by the rulers of the Jaisinghpur-Lambagaon Riyasat over a century ago for religious events and fairs — thus becoming an important site for upholding town’’s social cohesion.

An indoor stadium is being planned here. Residents deem the move against public interest and urged the government to revoke the allotments immediately. They rued that despite strong opposition, eight kanals of land had already been sanctioned for a judicial complex.

They highlighted that the playground had been subjected to encroachments over the past two decades, yet local authorities had failed to take action. Originally spanning 165 kanals as per revenue records, the playground has now shrunk to 65 kanals due to illegal constructions. The residents called for an immediate and complete ban on all construction work here.

Determined to fight for their cause, the protesting residents vowed to take the matter to the Himachal Pradesh High Court to secure a stay on construction activities.

The residents, panchayat members and members of the Jaisinghpur Beopar Mandal also joined the protest. They said they would submit a memorandum to Jaisinghpur SDM Sanjiv Thakur, requesting the Chief Minister and Governor of Himachal Pradesh to intervene.