Manali residents to boycott panchayat poll

Dushyant Singh Pundir

Tribune News Service

Mandi, November 30

Irked over the indifferent attitude of the state government, residents of Burwa in Manali have decided to boycott the upcoming panchayat elections.

Thousands of people have lost their livelihood following the ban imposed by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) on all commercial activities at the Rohtang Pass, Solang Nullah and Marhi in the upper Manali region of Kullu district.

Burwa gram sabha president Bhagat Ram told The Tribune over phone that they had unanimous resolved to boycott the forthcoming panchayat elections at a meeting yesterday.

Be it the panchayat, Vidhan Sabha or Lok Sabha poll, they would not cast even a single vote, he said.

He said the state government had failed to represent their case before the NGT. Despite repeated directions from the Tribunal, the government had also not done anything for rehabilitation of the affected villagers, he said.

On July 7, the NGT had imposed a ban on all commercial activities, including horse-riding, snow-biking, paragliding, tyre-tube gaming and snow scooters, skiing, bungi-jumping, traditional and snow dresses at the eco-sensitive Rohtang Pass, Solang Nullah and Marhi to protect the fragile environment of the area.

Nearly 90 per cent population in nine villages of three panchayats — Goshal, Palchan and Burwa — was solely dependent on tourism-related activities at the Rohtang Pass, Solang and Marhi.

“The villagers, mostly illiterate, have lost their source of income and their survival has become tough,” he said.

Ram said there were 1,358 voters in the panchayat but they would stay away from the election process. Both the state government and the Opposition had miserably failed to protect the rights of the affected villagers, he said.

“It has become extremely difficult to sustain the family. Neither the villagers have been rehabilitated, nor they have been given any kind of compensation,” he said.

The green panel had asked the state government to frame a rehabilitation plan to re-engage the affected persons in alternative employments.

The Tribunal had also banned dhabas, khokas, rehris or any other kind of activity of eating at the Rohtang Pass. Except water, everything else was prohibited in and around the pass.

The number of vehicles going to the Rohtang Pass for tourism purpose has been capped to 1,000 per day, including 600 petrol and 400 diesel, per day.