The lawmaker of Lansdowne Assembly constituency in Pauri Garhwal district Mahant Dalip Singh Rawat today inaugurated a newly constructed road called Rajbo Shura Motor Marg in Rikhnikhal Block under the jurisdiction of Lansdown Assembly Constituency led by the BJP MLA.
Several local inhabitants, intellectuals of the area and concerned departmental officials were present during this inaugural function of this long pending Road in Rikhnikhal connecting distant villages.
According to a social activist n writer Devesh Admi associated with Aam Admi Party, the villagers of Rikhnikhal Block have been demanding this road for the last protracted seventeen years through incessant struggles. The matter got delayed due to non allotment of the land earlier but finally after more than 17 years, the demand was meted out and the local inhabitants saw the light of the day when distant villages of Rikhnikhal Block were connected to this main road.
While the inauguration ceremony was in process the lawmaker of lansedown Dalip Singh Rawat asked if anyone from the audience is desirous to put his views forth from this public platform.
The popular social activist of Rikhnikhal Block Devesh Admi came forward and raised the issue pertaining to the burning grievance of drinking water shortage in their village Kotari.
According to Devesh the inhabitants of Kotari village in Rikhnikhal Block have been relentlessly struggling hard for drinking water for the last several years but of no avail.
The villagers have to drink the contaminated water of the rivulets supplied through tankers resulting in the children n elders suffering from dangerous diseases like diahorrea, jaundice and Typhoid etc.
Devesh accquainted the lawmaker Dalip Singh Rawat that the villagers of Kotari had brought the NOC thrice from Dabrad village in last 8 years , but the concerned officials have not heeded to their requests nor the MLa. Even the MLA Dalip Singh Rawat was reminded about this acute water shortage grievance several times but of no avail except a fake assurances said Devesh Admi of AAP.
The water shortage problem in village Kotari is so acute that a single tanker water despite being contaminated is not enough to cater the drinking water shortage of the entire village, not to speak of availability of drinking water during marriage ceremonies and to the domestic pets and animals like cows, buffaloes and goats etc.
During summers the students and staff of the girls middle school, Uttarakhand Rural development bank and NGO activists also suffer badly due to water shortage in this village said Devesh Admi social activist.
The Lansdown BJP lawmaker Dalip Singh Rawat was catagorically given warning by the Kotari villagers led by Devesh Admi of AAP that if drinking water scheme is not implemented in their village “Kothari ” latest by March 2021 they will be compelled to boycott BJP and the election and confront the ruling party strongly.
This angered the BJP lawmaker who accused Devesh Admi of deliberately opposing and challenging him from his ( MLAs) political platform as he hails from AAM AAdmi Party.
Devesh Admi accused the MLA for deliberately sidelining those villages who had not voted to him being particularly vindictive with Kothari village.
He questioned : Is is not the fundamental democratic and constitutional right of the electorates to raise their voice against injustice and non fulfillment of genuine demands?
There had been altercations between the lawmaker Dilip Singh and Devesh Admi of AAP several times but the latter didn’t gave any confirmed assurance about providing drinking water to the villagers of Kotari suffering from its shortage for the last several years.
After not being assured by Dilip Singh MLA to fulfil any demand of the villagers of Kotari and the adjoining villages in Rikhnikhal Block and misbehaving with Devesh Admi n others, the villagers while opposing him committed to call a next meeting shortly to finally come to conclusion to boycott election in 2022 and not to vote for BJP said Devesh Admi of Aam Admi Party.
