Valmiki community members protest illegal construction

Hoshiarpur, May 25

There was an uproar in the Valmiki Ashram located on the local Hariana Road when members of the Valmiki community started protesting over the alleged illegal construction being done on the premises by some persons. On the occasion, Valmiki Samaj leader Kamal Bhatti said there is a huge statue of Bhagwan Valmiki in the ashram, which is very old and every year the birth anniversary of Valmiki is celebrated here with great pomp.

He said for the last few days, some people were claiming this place as theirs with the intention of taking over the ashram land. In this regard, leaders and members of the Valmiki Samaj in Hoshiarpur had asked them to present documents related to the land, but they did not do so.

Now, other party people had started illegal construction by building a wall in the ashram at night. Sant Girdhari Lal, Gaddi Nashin Pawan Valmiki Teerth, Amritsar, Om Prakash Gabbar, Vinod Kumar Billa, Surinder Kumar and Ajay Khosla, who reached the occasion, warned the police administration that if they did not take strict action against the rival party, the Valmiki community would hold protests across Punjab.

On receiving information about the incident, SP (D) Sarabjit Singh Bahia and DSP (City) Amar Nath reached the spot with a police party. While talking to the protesters, he held a meeting with both parties and asked them to produce documents regarding the ashram land. On the occasion, Valmiki Sabha (Hoshiarpur) chairman Tarsem Lal said a special meeting would be held in the ashram on May 29, in which leaders and social workers of the community from all the districts of the state would reach and mull further action in this regard.