Condition of hunger strikers unto death deteriorate at Gairsain

There have been reports pouring in that the physical condition of the hunger strikers sitting on fast unto death in GAIRSAIN in Chamoli district of Uttarakhand is deteriorating after four hunger strikers have considerably lost their weight leading to anger and outrage amongst the Gairsain movement activists demanding outright declaration of Gaisain as Uttarakhand’s capital which has been intentionally delayed by the current and the successive governments of the Himalayan state for the last 18 years ruled turn by turn by the BJP and the Congress.

The movement activists are sitting on hunger strike for the last 52 days and the three hunger strikers namely Birendra Arya, Gambhir Singh Negi and Dhyan Singh have lost about six kilograms of weight respectively as per this reporter’s telephonic conversation with MM Dhaundiyal, currently stationed there.

Their blood pressure and suger levels have also gone awry. The weather too is extremely chilly cold and has added further to their miseries. A prominent leader of the left movement having quite a good reputation amongst the local populace who is backing and supporting the movement since the beginning Indresh Maikhuri has identified the Gairsain movement as the war against the system for employment and reverse migration in the hills and questioned the integrity of those who ruled the state during the last 18 years for not accepting the peoples’ demand of Gairsain capital which is technically equidistance from Kumaon and Garhwal regions and symbol of decentralised socio economic, agricultural, educational, industrial and environment friendly development of the state achieved after several years of relentless struggles and loss of 43 precious lives of youths, students, women and sr citizens.

According to the new development the prominent regional party of Uttarakhand which played a key role in the formation of separate Uttarakhand State called the Uttarakhand Kranti Dal has now also actively joined the Gairsain capital movement with former MLA and UKD leader Bipin Tripathi energising the movement in the Kumaon division appealing the youths, students and women to join him in large numbers.

It may be recalled that the movement for declaring Gairsain as Uttarakhand’s capital has started primarily from Rudraprayag by young journalists like Mohit Dimri and others and now it has spread like wild fire in the valleys, cities, towns and the interiors of entire Uttarakhand including in metropolitan cities like Delhi etc. The deteriorating health condition of these hunger strikers have further given new momentum to this on going movement in the hills of Uttarakhand.

The BJP government is having a historic majority of 57 lawmakers out of total 70 in the Uttarakhand Assembly but is still adamant not to declare Gairsain as the permanent capital of Uttarakhand despite the fact that a magnificient assembly building and the secretariat has already been build at Gairsain worth 500 crores during the previous Congress era and some of the assembly sessions have also been conducted here.

Whether its declared a permanent capital or not but news analysts say that even if it is for the time being declared a partial or summer capital, it may perhaps soothe/ bring down the soaring temperature of angered movement activists who are currently up in arms against the ruling political dispensation of Uttarakhand enjoying historic majority but not agreeing to the demand of Gairsain being declared as a permanent capital.