DEHRADUN/PITHORAGARH:
Public anger over the proposed relocation of the 130 Environmental Battalion from Pithoragarh continues to intensify, with protests entering their 26th day on Friday even as both the Union government and the Uttarakhand government remain silent spectators.
A massive Jan Akrosh Rally was taken out from the Aincholi area by agitating citizens and ex-servicemen demanding that the battalion not be shifted from the border district. The rally witnessed an overwhelming turnout of women, youth, senior citizens and children, signalling that the agitation has now transformed into a district-wide movement.
The protest received a major boost when noted environmentalist Basanti Devi joined the rally along with a large number of women and extended moral support to the agitation.
Standing in the front ranks of the march, she said the soil of Pithoragarh is not only known for brave soldiers guarding the nation’s borders but also for its rich environmental heritage. “Shifting the 130 Environmental Battalion, which has been working for ecological conservation in this fragile Himalayan region, would be a grave injustice to both the environment and the future of this border district,” she said.
The protesters marched through the town and later submitted a memorandum through the district administration addressed to Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Environment Minister and Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, urging them to immediately reconsider the relocation proposal.
Entrepreneur and social worker Vimal Singh Bohra, founder of Prime Hospital in Kashipur, also joined the protest and said the issue concerns the future of his home district and therefore deserves collective support.
Speakers at the protest lashed out at the “continued silence” of both the Centre and the state government despite the agitation running for more than three weeks. They also criticised local MPs and MLAs for failing to raise the issue effectively, alleging that the border district was being pushed into a leadership vacuum on a matter that directly affects its ecological and strategic future.
Participants said the relocation of the battalion would not only weaken ongoing conservation work in the fragile Himalayan terrain but also send a wrong message to people living in the sensitive border region.
With emotions running high on the streets, the ex-servicemen’s organisation announced that similar large rallies will now be organised across other parts of the district in the coming days to further intensify the agitation.
“The message from the hills is clear,” protesters said in unison.
“If the environment survives, the mountains will survive — and if the mountains survive, the border will survive. The relocation of the 130 Environmental Battalion will not be accepted at any cost.”
