Hundreds of Uttarakhandies protest at Parliament street to demand GAIRSAIN as capital

Hundreds of inhabitants of Uttarakhand living in Delhi and the National Capital Region like Noida, Ghaziabad, Gurgaon today marched to parliament House in unison raising slogans demanding GAIRSAIN to be made the capital of Uttarakhand.

NAMED as the Hunkaar rally,the massive protest demonstration was organised by the volunteers of Uttarakhand Ekta Manch and other social organisatons of the capital including individuals wearing yellow T shirts of Uttarakhand Ekta Manch under the scorching sun at Parliament street witnessing hundreds of the participants raisng in one unequivocal voice the demand for GAIRSAIN CAPITAL.

There were hundreds of policeman to control the furios and angered mob who were otherwise peaceful. A memorandum was thereafter handed over to the Prime minister of India asking him to fulfil his party’s pre election promise of declaring Gairsain as the permanent capital of the eighteen year old state and honour the commitment as the BJP is in absolute majority in both Uttarakhand state as well as the Centre.

Every speaker who spoke on this ocassion termed GAIRSAIN capital, the mandatory need of the hour and said that if Uttarakhand really wants to prosper econmically, industrially, culturally, agriculturally and educationally through the decentrilized developmentinitiative, which had been missng till now, at the village and block level, shifting of the state’s capital from DEHRADUN to GAIRSAIN on permanent official basis is utmostly essential and technically feasible as this would also lead immensely in reverse migration as well.

It may be recalled that the demand for Gairsain as a permanent capital of Uttarakhand was first raised by the revolutionery freedom fighter Veer Chandra Singh Garhwali who was born in DUDHATOLI, Gairsain in Chamoli district. Thereafter the regional party of UTTARAKHAND UKD and those parties n forces, aspousing the cause of Uttarakhand separate state has mentioned it in their election menisfesto and built/established the statue of Chandra Singh Garhwali a Dudatoli, Gairsain where every year functions are held to commemorate him and demand Gairsain as the states’ capital. Baba Mohan Singh Uttarakhandi sacrificed his precious life after undergoing 40 days hunger strike at Gairsain demanding the new capital.

Whole of the Uttarakhand these days is under the influence of the movements in various parts of Garhwal and Kumaon divisions with fasts still undergoing in Gairsain by women and youth activists.

Recently during the budget session of the Uttarakhand government in the newly built assembly at Gairsain, hundreds of socio political activists has protested and courted arrests on this demand but of no awail.

The ruling party government of the state has not uttered a single word on Gairsain while in session except passing the state budget. This has further angered the state’s populace. In the past, two commissions on deciding the fate of the new capital had also tried to arbitrarily drag on the issue further for years together but the Kaushik committee on Gairsan had in principle agreed this demand as technically feasible and viable but all in vain.
SUNIL NEGI, PRESIDENT, UTTARAKHAND JOURNALISTS FORUM