Uttarakhand: The BJP government is a government that displaces the poor, it is not going to create revenue villages without a struggle – Indresh Maikhuri

• Demand raised to stop fraud in Bindukhatta revenue village and to find a permanent solution to the problem of stray cattle
• Massive demonstration of rural people of Bindukhatta under the leadership of Kisan Mahasabha

Kisan Mahasabha organized a huge demonstration and public meeting at Shaheed Smarak to demand notification of making Bindukhatta a revenue village with ownership rights to the residents of Bindukhatta and guarantee of government purchase of cattle for permanent solution of stray cattle problem and compensation for loss of crops of farmers due to stray cows and bulls, compensation to those killed and injured in accidents. From here, demands were raised to stop fraud in Bindukhatta revenue village and to find permanent solution to the stray cattle problem.

Speaking as the keynote speaker at the public meeting, CPIML Uttarakhand State Secretary Indresh Maikhuri said that the BJP government is a government that displaces the poor, so it will not create a revenue village without the struggle of the people. Prime Minister Modi promises from the Red Fort on 15 August that everyone will have a roof over their head by 2047, but the houses of poor people across the country are being bulldozed under the patronage of this government. The BJP is using religious divisions to divide the unity of the people. After a long public struggle of the people of Bindukhatta, despite the declaration of Bindukhatta as a revenue village by two Chief Ministers, the notification of the revenue village has not been issued yet. It seems that the state government and the Lalkuan MLA want to waste their five-year term by misleading the people. The people of Bindukhatta have achieved every development work, from settlement to other things, on the strength of their struggle in the past as well. The revenue village will also be achieved on the strength of the people’s struggle. This government is afraid of the unity of the people, therefore only through united struggle can the BJP government be forced to give up revenue villages.

State President of Kisan Mahasabha, Anand Singh Negi said that due to the anti-farmer and anti-animal husbandry, corporate-friendly policies of the BJP government of the state, along with uprooting the farmers from their farming, the cattle, which is a means of ancestral livelihood, has become garbage today. Today, cattle have become a burden along with financial loss for the cattle rearers, the cause of destruction of farmers’ farming and crops and accidents on the roads. The government is not at all serious about solving this government-generated problem. On 18 September 2024, Kisan Mahasabha, under the “Government Stray Cows Handover to the Government”, deposited the stray cattle in the tehsil and organized a massive movement to immediately arrange for the stray cattle from the area elsewhere, but the situation still remains the same. The government should change this situation or be ready for a big movement.

After the demonstration, an eight-point memorandum of demands was sent to the Chief Minister through the Sub-District Magistrate Lalkuan. The memorandum was received by the SDM representative at the Martyr’s Memorial.

Demands :-

1. After two chief ministers have made two announcements to make Bindukhatta a revenue village, delaying the process is an anti-people step. Therefore, due legal action should be taken by the legislature and a notification of revenue village should be issued immediately.
2. By taking a decision in favour of cattle rearers, farmers and the general public, the government should fix the government price as per the status of the cattle (Landi, Bakhri, Bailey cow, heifer-calf, ox, bull) and guarantee government purchase or cancel the Cow Protection Act.
3. Provide ₹10 lakh compensation to those injured in accidents or attacks by cows and at least ₹50 lakh compensation to the families of those killed immediately.
4. Give proper compensation to the farmers for the destruction of standing crops in the fields due to stray cows and bulls!
5. While providing relief to the people of the area who are suffering from the terror of stray cattle and the continuous loss of life and property in the Lalkuan Tehsil area, the Tehsil administration should make immediate arrangement for the stray cattle elsewhere.
6. The arbitrary behaviour of private cowshed operators should be banned, the collection of money from cattle owners by them should be stopped and the administration should take cognizance of the mismanagement in these cowsheds.
7. Cancel the Gangster Act, which was made for taking legal action against cattle owners who are forced to abandon their animals.
8. On the lines of cow shelters, it should be ensured that all cattle rearers are given the maintenance money per cow per day and the subsidy amount on fodder in order to promote animal husbandry.

It was warned through the demonstration that if the cattle rearers, farmers and the regional people do not demand immediate solution to these demands through a massive demonstration, then under the leadership of Kisan Mahasabha, they will be forced to launch an indefinite mass movement against the anti-people attitude of the government till the residents of Bindukhatta are given ownership rights and Bindukhatta is made a revenue village and permanent solution to the problem of stray cattle is demanded by the government through guarantee of cow purchase or the cow protection law is cancelled.

The meeting was presided over by senior leader Bahadur Singh Jangi and conducted by Vimala Rauthan. CPIML state secretary Indresh Maikhuri, state president of Kisan Mahasabha Anand Singh Negi, district president of Kisan Mahasabha Bhuwan Joshi, district secretary Chandan Ram, CPIML district secretary Dr Kailash Pandey, senior leader Anand Singh Sijwali, secretary of Bagjala Kisan Mahasabha Ved Prakash, publicity secretary Pankaj Chauhan, Kishan Baghri, Rajendra Singh Bora, Pushkar Dubdia, Govind Jina, president of Bindukhatta Vyapar Sangh Prabhat Pal, Lalit Matiyali, Dheeraj Kumar, Diwan Ram, Kamalapati Joshi, Nirmala Shahi, Sarita Jangi, D S Mehra, Veer Bhadra Bhandari, Amba Dutt, Bishan Dutt Joshi, Lalit Joshi, Meena Bhatt, Harish Bhandari, Puja, Angad, Pani Ram, Trilok Ram, Deepa, Neema Bisht, Trilok Singh Danu, Panuli Devi, Kishan Jaggi, Neema Koranga, Anita Bhandari, Chandra, Harish Ram, Anand Singh Danu, Anita Devi and hundreds of villagers participated in the demonstration. In support, Indra of Ex-Servicemen Association also participated. Singh Paneri, Kundan Singh Mehta also participated.