Villagers enraged against govt’s decision to open liquor factories in Garhwal

Massive resentment is brewing up amongst the people, especially the women community of Garhwal Uttarakhand against the government’s decision to open an indigenous liquor manufacturing plant at Devprayag, Pauri Garhwal and two other plants in the offing at Satpuli as well as in Tehri according to the Prajamandal Party of Uttarakhand.

This decision of the government has immensely enraged the local residents especially hundreds of women and a regional political outfit called Prajamandal Party who are deadly against the opening of liquor plants at the spiritual township Devprayag and at Satpuli and Tehri, which are in the offing.

In order to collectively oppose this liquor manufacturing project that has come upon 500 Nalies’ land at Devprayag  on the land of Dadua Bhandali including the one likely to come up at Satpuli and Tehri,  the women community of the nearby villages under the banner of Prajamandal Party and its founder movement activists Sameer Raturi have vowed to start a massive movement in Garhwal hills to mobilize people against opening of indigenous liquor manufacturing plants in the interiors of Uttarakhand.

Those present at the meeting of Prajamandal party outrightly opposed the government’s decision to establish the liquor and bottling plants at Devprayag, Satpuli, and Tehri and pledged to protest tooth and nail till the sanction order of the liquor factories at Satpuli and Tehri are not revoked forthwith including the Devprayag liquor plant.

Several representatives of the various political parties and social organizations stood in unison to oppose this anti-people project terming it as ruining thousands of families including the socio-cultural character of the society.

Hundreds of women activists and volunteers of the regional political outfit namely Prajamandal party under the leadership of its founder leader Sameer Raturi pledged to start a massive movement to pressurize the Uttarakhand government to cancel the administrative sanction with immediate effect.

The leader of Prajamandal party Sameer Raturi has given a final ultimatum to the government of Trivendra Singh Rawat to revoke the orders failing which the state administration will have to face dire consequences.

Raturi while strongly condemning the opening of the liquor manufacturing plants said that the government of Uttarakhand is hell-bent upon spoiling the careers of youth of Uttarakhand by opening liquor factories in the interior villages to earn heavy monetary profit and cover its long-standing fiscal deficit but  is not interesting to invest in health and education sector of the state.

The village heads of Daduwa and Bhandali on whose vast land this factory was built have also opposed the decision saying that they will court arrest and generate a massive peoples’ movement to oppose it tooth and nail.

It may be recalled that there is already tremendous opposition to the opening of a liquor manufacturing plant at Devprayag, a pious spiritual township in Pauri Garhwal where Alaknanda and Bhagirathi rivers unite to form the pious Ganges.

Now the ire of Prajamandal party has further escalated after another proposal of Uttarakhand government to open liquor plants at Satpuli and Tehri Garhwal.

The government of Uttarakhand which earns more than two thousand crores revenue annually from massive liquor sales seems to be more interested in opening liquor manufacturing units near the rivers in the interiors with the aim to make an easy and handsome buck than creating alternative sources of revenue generation.

The Prajamandal Party chief Sameer Raturi has accused the current government of Uttarakhand for being so liberal and liquor friendly that it has converted the  national highway into  district highway and are allegedly collecting  election funds  in the name of opening  indigenous liquor manufacturing plants as well as their massive sale thus spoiling the socio-cultural fabric of the state and thousands of families.