Uttarakhand / Rudrapur : Demonstration on non-fulfillment of announcements made on the martyrdom of the soldier

The villagers staged a sit-in under the leadership of Congress State General Secretary Harish Paneru on the non-fulfillment of the announcements made by the cabinet ministers on the martyrdom of the soldier. After being assured by the Deputy Collector, the villagers called off their protest. Sepoy Dev Bahadur (24) of Gorkha Regiment, a resident of village Gaurikalan, was martyred during patrolling in Batalik sector of Kargil on July 18 last year. After which there was a wave of mourning in the whole area. Condoling the martyrdom of Dev Bahadur, Cabinet Minister Arvind Pandey had announced financial assistance of Rs 12 lakh from the government and a government job for a family member. Apart from this, he also announced to build a mini stadium in the name of Dev Bahadur Singh. Despite the completion of almost a year, the villagers of Gauri Kalan, led by the martyr’s father Sher Bahadur and Congress state general secretary Harish Paneru, staged a sit-in by laying a carpet in the tehsil premises. Paneru alleged that the government talks of honoring the martyrs, but even after a year, the announcements have not been fulfilled yet. He warned that his struggle would continue till the announcements made by the government were not fulfilled. During this, the villagers raised slogans fiercely. Sub-Collector Naresh Durgapal reached the protest site and assured the villagers to start the process of fulfilling the announcements. Among those who demonstrated the dharna were Laxmi Devi, Neema Devi, Lalita Devi, Parvati, Shankar Mandal, Gopal Vishwas, Kishan, Prem Singh, Gopal, Sunil, Lal Bahadur, Rakesh, Haridas etc.