‘Not in public interest': Protesters call for scrapping Rispana, Bindal road projects

Time of India

5 days ago

Dehradun: Hundreds of daily wage labourers and social activists marched through the state capital on Friday, on the 95th anniversary of the 1930 Tiladi massacre, demanding the scrapping of the Rispana and Bindal elevated road projects.
They said the projects could displace thousands of slum dwellers, leaving them with an uncertain future.
"In the past year, the state govt has gone back on its word multiple times. Last year, 525 houses were demolished along Rispana, and now the same is about to happen on Bindal. Court orders are being used as excuses, while hotels, restaurants, and even govt offices located in riverbeds remain untouched. Only labour colonies are being targeted despite the chief minister's statement on Jan 17 that not a single colony would be demolished," said Sunita of the labour organisation Chetna Andolan.
Construction activities without authorised maps around the two rivers were suspended by the Uttarakhand high court last month. The state govt had submitted to the court that encroachments on river and stream territories in Dehradun will be eliminated by June 30.
Protesters on Friday argued that elevated road projects serve no real public interest. They are pitched as a solution to traffic congestion in the state capital, smaller infrastructural improvements like adequate parking, functional traffic signals, and greater use of public transport could ease pressure without uprooting thousands, added the protesters.
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"Actions taken in the name of social impact assessment are neither lawful nor impartial. The estimated budget of the project is Rs 6,200 crore, while just Rs 143 crore has been allocated for essential needs like health infrastructure. This is deeply unfair to the people of Uttarakhand," said S N Sachan of the Samajwadi Party.
Members of several opposition parties and civil society groups were present at the demonstration, and a memorandum of their demands was submitted to authorities.
The protest was held on the 95th year of the Tiladi massacre, which followed a large 'satyagraha' on May 30, 1930, against the forestry policies of the princely state of Tehri Garhwal. While the Maharaja of Tehri was in Europe at the time, Prime Minister Chakradhar Juyal ordered a brutal crackdown on the protest. Soldiers opened fire on unarmed protestors, including women and children, in an incident reminiscent of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre.
Official records list 18 deaths, though the actual toll is believed to have been much higher.