Dehra Dun, March 17: Congress MLAs today staged a dharna inside the Uttarakhand assembly demanding immediate redressal of problems of people affected due to construction of Tehri dam, forcing the Speaker to adjourn the House.
As soon as the Zero Hour began, Kishor Upadhyay and other Congress MLAs trooped into the Well and alleged that the state government has failed to redress the problems of people despite the fact the people of the area have even sacrificed their homes for the construction of 2400 Mw Tehri dam.
Upadhyay said enough time has been given to the state government to take steps for the redressal of problems but nothing has been done so far. Speaker Harbans Kapoor asked the members to resume their seats.
When his repeated pleas were unheard, Kapoor adjourned the House first till 1230 hrs and then till 1300 hours. Upadhyay was yesterday invited by the Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhariyal Nishank for talks where he submitted his 21 point charter of demands comprising construction of schools, colleges and hospitals in Tehri area.
After the meeting, while Upadhyay said that no specific assurance was given on his demands, the state government issued a press note stating that Chief Minister has directed his officials to set up a committee under the chairmanship of Forest and Rural Development commissioner Subhash Kumar to look into the demands. Nishank said the state government would take steps on the demands as soon as the committee submits its report.
—-PTI