Chamba violence: Demonstrations continue on day 2

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HimVani

Chamba: On the second consecutive day, after 5 activists of the Saal Ghaati Sangharsh Morcha were attacked on 14th February by armed men near Hull Hydro Project in Jadera, anger continued to seethe on the streets of Chamba town. After rallying across the district headquarter, hundreds of agitators demonstrated in front of the District Collector office till the DC came out to accept a joint memorandum submitted by the protestors.

 

The memorandum put forth the following demands – That an immediate judicial enquiry be carried out in the matter, that the injured activists be immediately provided compensation for the injuries they have undergone and that the Hull Hydro projects be immediately cancelled.
The people of Jadera and activists of several people organisations continued to question the DC about the action taken by the administration on the matter. It must be noted that the vehicles in which the goons entered into the area have not yet impounded and neither has any information been made available on the recovery of weapons. The attackers had used pistols, swords and sticks and beat up people severely injuring 5 persons.

The locals from 9 Panchayats of the Saal valley have been opposing the construction of the hydroelectric project due to its impacts on the local forests, water resources and environment since 2005 under the banner of the Saal Ghaati Sangharsh Morcha. Speakers addressing the demonstrators, consistently condemned the attack on comrade Ratan Chand and other residents of the region. They consistently challenged the use of goons and violent intimidation by companies for their profits. Activists also highlighted the nexus between administration and company officials as one of the reasons for such incidents.

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